Liberty Global to acquire controlling stake in Formula E

Formula E has confirmed that Liberty Global has acquired a controlling stake in the all-electric series.

The company will purchase the shares owned by Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), taking its total stake to 65 per cent.

“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,” said Jeff Dodds, chief executive of Formula E.

“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.”

This adds to the shares owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which holds 5.5 per cent of Hong Kong-based Formula E’s B-preferred shares and 9.6 per cent of its ordinary shares, which equates to €6.3 million (US$6.9 million).

SportsPro says…
Liberty Global has been involved in Formula E since the series’ inception, so this move gives it more control. The company has already influenced things with the appointment of Jeff Dodds as chief executive, who moved across from O2 Virgin Media, another company owned by Liberty Global.

Despite the similar names, Liberty Global is not connected to Liberty Media, the owner of Formula One and MotoGP. The company separated from Liberty Media in 2005, formed by the merger of the international arm of Liberty Media and UnitedGlobalCom. SportsPro Media