Formula 1 CEO Chase Carey is brushing off the decision of teams not to take up the initial offering of shares in the sport put on the table soon after Liberty Media’s takeover at the beginning of the year.
The chance to buy a stake in the sport’s holding company was seen as a way of showing commitment to the future of F1 and was considered by the major manufacturers including Ferrari and Mercedes.
However: “The investment opportunity offered to F1 teams to purchase up to approximately 19 million shares of Series C Formula One common stock (‘FWONK’) has expired,” a statement from Liberty Media revealed.
“The F1 teams were offered the opportunity to invest at a per share purchase price of $21.26 at the time of Liberty’s acquisition of Delta Topco Limited, the parent company of Formula 1, on January 23, 2017, and subject to a six-month investment review process.”
Though those 19 million shares have now been withdrawn, teams are likely to have a similar offer put forward again as Liberty “retains the right to offer future investment opportunities to Formula 1 teams”.
The lack of interest could be seen as a negative for the new leadership, however, as Carey points, work on re-modelling F1 is just beginning, therefore, it is relatively unsurprising to see them play a patient game on a new idea.
“We have been actively engaged with all teams to shape a shared vision for the sport that will create real value for all stakeholders,” the American said.
“While the window for this particular investment opportunity has passed, we are pleased with the collaborative discussions we are having with the teams.
“These discussions will take time, but we appreciate their receptivity towards further aligning our incentives for the long-term benefit of the sport.”
