Is F1 Up for Grabs? Liberty's Potential Move Explained
Sep.5 - Liberty Media chairman John Malone admits he would be willing to sell Formula 1 - but only if the offer outweighed the sport's surging value.
Speaking to Yahoo Finance executive editor Brian Sozzi on the Opening Bid Unfiltered podcast, the 84-year-old billionaire said F1 remains one of Liberty's standout assets.
"I think the shareholders seem to love it right at the moment," Malone said. "It's really performing well."
Liberty, which also acquired MotoGP earlier this year in a $4.2 billion deal, bought control of Formula One Group in late 2016 for $4.4bn. Today, the company's share price values F1 at close to $100bn.
"It has an exceptionally good economic structure," Malone explained. "It will be a very large free cash flow generator, and there perhaps will be incremental, synergistic add-ons. It still has a big brand to drive."
As for selling, Malone made clear the door is not closed.
"Look, it's a public company," he noted. "If somebody gets carried away, and they want to buy it, and they're willing to pay more for it than the board thinks that they can deliver to the shareholders, then we would sell it. I mean, that's the bottom line."
Even individual teams are reportedly now valued at over $2.3bn on average, with global interest further boosted by the success of the Brad Pitt F1 film.
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Just sell F1 to the Saudis & I wouldn't care an awful lot anymore.
Y'know, Liberty Media has made F1 more of a circus than ever. The American schtick has shortened the on-track / in-car coverage and lengthened the nonsensical tight crowd-shots, or PIP interviews, or panning across the VIP lounge or some other non-race related visual.
All he while having to put up with Crusty's ridiculous narration of the race. He's never driven competitively so he trots out sound-bites from experienced drivers that he recalls, or some hair-splitting statistic that is hardly relevant. The last race was terrible for him talking loudly and obnoxiously over Karun's relevant and inciteful commentary. Crusty is a nob!
In any event, I hope the 84-year-old billionaire flogs F1 to somebody that actually pays attention to the drivers, the paddock, and most importantly, the race.