Liberty Global is to take a controlling interest in electric car racing series Formula E.
Liberty Global is acquiring shares held by Warner Bros. Discovery. On completion, the deal will bring Liberty Global’s total share of ownership in Formula E to 65%.
Formula E is the only FIA sanctioned electric world motor racing championship. In its 10th season, the Formula E Championship has 16 races in cities across four continents.
11 teams and 22 drivers compete in Formula E with current teams including Jaguar, Porsche, Maserati, McLaren, Nissan, DS, Mahindra, Andretti, Penske, Envision and ERT.
Liberty Global is a publicly traded company led by billionaire John Malone. The deal means two Formula circuits — Formula 1 and Formula E — are now under Malone’s umbrella of Liberty entities. Liberty Media, a separate publicly traded business, owns Formula 1. Malone, who founded Liberty, controls about 31% of Liberty Global and most of Liberty Media. He is chairman of the board of both companies.
Mike Fries, CEO, Liberty Global, commented: “We’re excited to take a controlling interest in Formula E, a business we first invested in nearly ten 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.”
Jeff Dodds, CEO, Formula E, said: “First of all I’d like to offer my thanks to Warner Bros. Discovery for the support and guidance they’ve provided Formula E over the past nine years. Liberty Global have a proven track record of building and growing businesses and their 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 their resources. This is a powerful vindication of the huge potential of our sport.”
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