Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei has said the sale of F1 is “not in our cards” as the sport continues to generate strong growth across multiple revenue streams.
Reports earlier this year claimed an approach was made by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund to acquire F1 in 2022.
That allegedly came a $20 billion valuation of the sport with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem suggesting that was overstated and garnered an angry response from Liberty Media to the FIA.
Speaking recently, Maffei distanced the sport from the reported bid.
He’s since further stated Liberty Media is looking to continue driving the growth of F1.
“Anyone says that our friends the Saudis are going to buy it next week or something like that, if anybody knows us, they should know that’s just not in our cards,” Maffei said, speaking as part of the MoffetNathanson Media and Communications Summit this week.
“We are very enthused about where Formula 1 is now, but where it’s going as well.
“You look at the big revenue streams there, all have good direction.
“In broadcasting, we have increased fans and we have increased distributors who want to push the product, including new digital distributors and the like.
“We have promoters who are our partners.
“The gate was probably up in Miami. That’s not unique.
“They’re selling out everywhere, particularly the high-end experiences, the Paddock Clubs, all at better prices, so we are able to get upticks in what we get paid.
“We have been able to add a few races and there’s maybe a little more room left there.
“Then sponsorship has grown dramatically,” he added.
“We’ve opened up the number of global sponsors; I think we’ve gone from five to 12 of our biggest sponsor types.
“We are continuing to see traction there and I think we’re well set up.
“We have a new opportunity with what we’re doing in Las Vegas where we will be the promoter and we have an opportunity to learn about something and hopefully set the bar.”
Earlier this month, Formula 1 released its first-quarter earnings.
That revealed a USD $21 million jump in revenue over the same period a year ago, for a total of USD $381 million.
New media rights agreements, sponsorship, and increased race hosting fees all contributed to that rise – offsetting a USD $12 million rise in payments to teams.
It was also despite costs incurred relating to the planning of the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Liberty Media completed the acquisition of Formula 1 in January 2017 in a deal that valued the sport at USD $8 billion.
Formula One Group (FWONK) currently holds a stock price of $73.31, suggesting a current market value of around $28 billion.
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