F1 owners Liberty Media have made clear that US$20 billion (AUS$30bn; £15.74bn) would not be enough to tempt a potential sale.
Earlier this year speculation surfaced that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) had approached US-based Liberty about the possibility of a US$20bn buyout.
Such a figure would represent a 150 percent profit on the US$8bn purchase of the sport from former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone just over six years ago.
The rumours have since been denied, with Liberty CEO and president Greg Maffei reiterating that fact in a discussion on the Walker Webcast.
Maffei has further suggested that should the day arrive when Liberty does decide to sell, then any potential purchaser would have to make an offer far in excess of US$20bn.
“The Saudis are partners on a couple of things,” said Maffei. “They have a race; Aramco (state-owned petroleum and natural gas company) is a sponsor (of Aston Martin), but they never approached us.
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“And frankly, $20 billion would not be an attractive price. It’s trading for $17 billion, $18 billion. Why 20? I’d want a hell of a lot more than that. We’re pretty bullish on the future.”
Since the arrival of Liberty Media in 2017, F1’s growth has skyrocketed, resulting in its current valuation.
Explaining why a sale is not in Liberty Media’s short-term plans, Maffei added: “We’re a C-corp, meaning if we sell a division, we pay corporate-level tax, and then any proceeds we would pay that get distributed to our shareholders, they would, in addition, pay tax.
“If we were to spin Formula 1 away, create a separate company, wait a sufficient time, have no plan or intent to sell, that asset could be sold down the road and there would be no corporate-level tax.
“So what I’m saying is the way we’re structured today, given that low tax basis, we would not be sellers.
“If we wish to be sellers or even consider it, you’d need to do a spin, and spinning it away, there are other reasons why we might do that. It’s not just to do a sale.
“The way we are structured, that would be very unattractive.”
Maffei feels the addition of an American OEM to F1 would again increase the sport’s growth and reach.
This year, a third US race in Las Vegas joins the calendar in addition to those in Austin and Miami, whilst there is a US driver in Logan Sargeant with Williams.
Ford is set to return to F1 from 2026 as a power unit partner with Red Bull, whilst GM – via its Cadillac brand – is set to partner with Andretti should the latter be given the green light to join F1 as an 11th team in three years’ time.
Maffei remarked: “Ford is invested in the Red Bull engine process, and it’s not inconceivable Ford could yet take a bigger role.
“There’s certainly talk General Motors is interested in the Andretti bid around the 11th team, and there are reasons to think that could come about.
“We’re lucky we’ve got so many OEMs now, as many as we’ve ever had, but having more OEMs, and particularly an American one, would certainly be a positive.”
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