Formula One has been a cornerstone holding of Liberty Media since the Colorado-based company acquired the motorsports property in 2017. Whether it stays that way is the subject of rising speculation.
Liberty has already been in the midst of a significant transition in recent years, first spinning off MLB’s Braves and then beginning a process to place most of its assets outside of F1 in a separate entity called Liberty Live to “simplify its capital structure.” The latter move, targeted for completion later this year, also arrived with the departure of longtime Liberty president and CEO Greg Maffei at the end of 2024.
In that environment of change, rumors have increasingly swirled. A report last month by The Times in the U.K. said that an F1 sale process is developing, and it will likely hit the market next year. Part of the reasoning in the report was that after several years of impressive growth for F1, including a boom in popularity and awareness driven by the Drive to Survive series on Netflix, this is an optimal time for Liberty to cash out.
That report follows a separate one more than two years ago in which the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, the primary backer of LIV Golf and already holding various investment, event, and sponsorship ties to F1, tried to acquire F1 in a deal worth more than $20 billion. That suggestion was quickly dismissed by Saudi Arabia’s minister for sport as “purely speculation.”
But even before Liberty’s latest corporate maneuvers, that furthered the suggestion that F1 was potentially in play.
Regardless of the chatter, F1 remains in a strong financial position, with 2024 revenue rising 14% to $3.65 billion, operating income growing 26% last year to $492 million, and global race attendance increasing 9% to 6.5 million.
Liberty is due to make its next quarterly earnings report on May 7, is already facing uncertainty regarding its U.S. media rights, and could see analyst and investor scrutiny on its long-term plans for F1.
