Formula One To Be Acquired By This Cable TV Mogul

Formula One, an international form of car racing, could now be finally hitting the U.S. market.

U.S. cable TV mogul John Malone’s Liberty Media will be acquiring the sport that has an enterprise value at $8 billion and an annual turnover of roughly $1.9B.

British business magnate, Bernie Ecclestone, 85, has run the sport for almost 40 years and will be exiting.

Liberty Media said in a statement that it was acquiring an initial 18.7 percent stake from controlling shareholder CVC Capital Partners and hopes to complete a deal for the remainder by the first quarter of 2017.

The deal will be subject to the approval of not only the International Automobile Federation (FIA), but the governing body for Formula One and other global motorsport series, and European anti-trust regulators.

Chase Carey, executive vice-chairman of Century Fox and a director of Sky News owner Sky Plc, will take over as chairman of the board of Formula One’s parent company and Ecclestone will remain as CEO.

“I greatly admire Formula One as a unique global sports entertainment franchise attracting hundreds of millions of fans each season from all around the world,” Carey said.

“I see great opportunity to help Formula One continue to develop and prosper for the benefit of the sport, fans, teams and investors alike.”

Disclaimer: We have no position in Liberty Media (NASDAQ: LMCA) and have not been compensated for this article.