Liberty Global is set to take a controlling stake in FIA Formula E, acquiring the shares held by Warner Bros. Discovery.
Liberty will now be taking 65%, leaving Formula E in the hands of a huge telecommunications company that gives the series a further boost, after this week’s announcement of the Season 11 calendar, the biggest in its history.
Liberty Global spawned in 2005, by the merger of UnitedGlobalCom and the international wing of Liberty Media, the owners of Formula One. The company also owns Virgin Media O2, the company of which Jeff Dodds was Chief Operating Officer before taking-up his current position as Formula E’s CEO.
Dodds himself has said:
“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.
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.”
Mike Fries, CEO of Liberty Global, said:
“We’re excited to take a controlling interest in Formula E, a business we first invested in nearly ten years ago.
Formula E has a massive potential for further growth while integrating the most advanced sustainability standards in sports.
The investment continues our approach of disciplined capital rotation across our Ventures portfolio and our strategy of making long-term investment in highly attractive businesses.”
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