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A NEW CHAPTER dawns for Formula One with American media mogul John Malone poised to become the glittering but flawed sporting jewel’s new custodian.
The Malone-backed Liberty Media has emerged in pole position to buy F1 after interest from broadcaster Sky, Paris Saint-Germain’s owner Qatar Sports Investments and Stephen Ross, owner of MLS side the Miami Dolphins, waned.
The high-octane sport’s octogenarian ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone told German magazine Auto Motor und Sport at last weekend’s Italian Grand Prix that a deal was imminent, possibly as early as today.
Yesterday’s edition of the Financial Times suggested talks between Liberty Media and current 35% majority stake owners CVC Partners, were “at an advanced stage”.
The 75-year-old Malone’s media empire is expected to take an initial 10-15% stake valued at $1.3 billion-$2.7 billion (€1.2 billion-€2.4 billion), en route to becoming majority owners in a deal valuing F1 at up to $9 billion.
The FT, quoting “people briefed in the talks”, said that Chase Carey, executive vice-chairman of Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox, would be appointed F1′s new chairman.
Liberty Media already has interest in several sports and entertainment businesses, including the Atlanta Braves Major League baseball team.
Malone, whose ancestors come from county Cork, also has significant interests in Ireland, including a string of hotels bought at knock-down prices after the recession.
His company, Liberty Global, owns Virgin Media Ireland, which in turn has bought both TV3 and UTV Ireland during the past year.
Speculation
If it goes ahead, the deal would end years of rumour and speculation over F1′s future.
Ecclestone, who owns around 5% and his Bambino Trust a further 8%, is the mastermind behind F1′s evolution over the past 40 years into a billion-dollar sporting business.
The 85-year-old, who forked up $100 million to the German authorities to end a high-profile bribery trial in 2014, held talks with CVC co-chairman Donald Mackenzie at Monza, the BBC reported.
With the sport’s attraction to television audiences undermined by the recent domination of first Red Bull and now Mercedes, Liberty’s arrival was welcomed by key personalities in the pits.
Red Bull’s Christian Horner told The Guardian: “It could be a really exciting deal for Formula One if it happens … but for a new group to come in without (Ecclestone) being there would be very difficult, so I’d assume he’ll be around for some time.”
Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff was equally enthusiastic.
“If there is an investor that wants to buy the shares it is good news for Formula One. It is good news that an American media company buys Formula One.”
Wolff and other analysts will hope that a specialist media empire such as Liberty can reignite interest in a sport which according to official figures has seen its global viewing audience shed 200 million viewers since 2008.
News of the imminent deal would see the flag fall on CVC’s chequered association.
One of the world’s leading private equity firms, it invested in F1 in 2006 for around $1.2 billion but has been attacked for taking too much out of the sport.
In 2014, Bob Fernley, Force India’s deputy team chief, accused CVC of reaping the massive rewards in F1 without putting anything back.
He accused them of having “no interest whatsoever in the future of Formula One”.
Written by © – AFP and posted on Fora.ie with reporting Peter Bodkin
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Did you forget to post this story last weekend? The deal has already been announced: http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/sep/07/f1-liberty-media-8bn-takeover-deal-agreed-bernie-ecclestone?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
They bought it last week!!
Hopefully F1 will become interesting again, though I doubt it.
Not interesting. 1000bhp 200mph open wheeled cars going wheel to wheel on closed road circuits is not interesting. Well I guess you must have one hell of a buzz or you just don’t understand F1.
He is in for a shock when sees the only sport on this channel is GAA I live in hope he will change it and give The GAA the boot
I thought it had been sold for 2nd time in a week!
Look back on YouTube of the races 2014 and older look how exciting those races were more drama less predictability high octane fun. Nowadays it’s too predictable
Look back to the days of Eddie Irvine on the podium. Thems was the good f1 days. Hasn’t been good in over a decade imo
Revisionism at its finest lads! Back in 96/ 97, you had the Williams dominating, then it moved on to the McClaren where they started to lap everyone in the field.
After that Ferrari won title after title at the canter. In fact it got so bad that they had to change the rules to try bring more competition back into the sport.
I love F1 but stop with the bull about it being better a decade or two ago, that was no different than what Red Bull and Mercedes have done over the past number of years.
Very very true. F1 is not like other racing. It’s a technology exercise to try to build a car within a defined set of safety rules to go as fast as possible. That’s it’s role & our road cars benefit from it everyday. It is faster than any other form of motorsport & understanding the engineering helps with the show. If you just like cars racing around the track watch nascar or the US open wheel formulas.
The only time you can watch car racing on Irish TV might be on a film TV3 and RTE is stuck on football.
*NFL franchise Miami Dolphins
I thought Richard Branson owned Virgin Media Ireland…just saying…
He just licenses the Virgin brand to the company that was UPC.
Liberty global bought virgin media in the UK, there was no reason to rebrand it as it was an established brand . They then decided to rebrand UPC in Ireland as they can then improve efficiency in the two companies, marketing, support, etc
Ireland continue to use UPC Horizon boxes while the UK continue to use virgin boxes which are TiVo
So Branson doesn’t really drive their giant articulated lorry either, probably. What a con.
Bernie E. paid 100million euros to get a bribery charge dropped? That sounds like a bribe or is it just me
Will F1 now air on Tv3 Ireland
Tom the answer is no as the interest on TV 3 is the very same as RTE GAA all the way
Well they might once they have the rights for free, I no your pain of the lack of Motorsports on Irish tv, but to be honest we are better off because it would give it a worse imagine in this country the bags they would make of it
Plotting? It’s a fine deal.
have your say