Liberty Global, the major US media group, has increased its stake in the Formula E all-electric motor racing series to a controlling 65% by snapping up shares held by media and entertainment Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).
The deal, which still needs to pass through the usual regulatory approvals, will leave the remaining 35% of the series - now into its 10th season - under the control of various minority shareholders. Approval is expected by the end of 2024.
WBD will continue to cover Formula E action from a broadcast perspective, through a multi-year deal across 50 European markets unveiled in early January. WBD (at that time Discovery) initially invested in Formula E in 2015.
It has been reported that Liberty’s previous stake in Formula E was around 35%.
Jeff Dodds, chief executive at Formula E, said: “Liberty Global has a proven track record of building and growing businesses and its investment in us comes at the perfect time as we plan for a period of exponential growth.
“Having personally known and worked alongside the Liberty leadership team for over a decade, I’m thrilled to be able to further benefit from their expertise and resources. This is a powerful vindication of the huge potential of our sport.”
Mike Fries, Liberty Global’s CEO, added: “We’re excited to take a controlling interest in Formula E, a business we first invested in nearly 10 years ago.
“Formula E has a massive potential for further growth while integrating the most advanced sustainability standards in sports. The investment continues our approach of disciplined capital rotation across our Ventures portfolio and our strategy of making long-term investments in highly attractive businesses.”
Both Liberty Global and Liberty Media (which owns the Formula 1 motor racing and MotoGP motorcycling series) have the same chair, John Malone.
In a filing from 2021, WBD suggested that the value of its stake at the time of purchase (six years prior) was $65 million.
Earlier this week, Formula E unveiled a record race calendar for its 11th season and several new locations. The series will have a 17-race season for the first time across 11 venues.
Most notably, Monaco will debut on the Formula E calendar with separate back-to-back races on the full Circuit de Monaco.
The 2024-25 season will also feature a return to Miami, USA, for the first time since season one in an all-new location - the Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Liberty Global, meanwhile, finalized the total acquisition of Belgian telecoms firm Telenet last October.
The company added Telenet to a portfolio of European media investments that includes Dutch telecoms venture VodafoneZiggo, Virgin Media in the UK, Virgin Media Ireland, Sunrise (Switzerland), and UPC Broadband.
