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Liberty Global Purchases Majority Stake Of Formula E From Warner Bros./Discovery

Maury Brown
Senior Contributor
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
Former Natl Sportswriter Of The Year Nominee, BBWAA, MLB, Motorsports
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Formula E, the global all-electric open wheel racing series, now sees Liberty Global as the majority owner.

Liberty Global’s total share of ownership in Formula E jumps to 65% and means that they now have the controlling interest in the racing series after buying out Warner Brothers/Discovery’s interest.

Financial terms were not immediately revealed due to regulatory approval. Liberty Global said they would announce with closing by year end.

“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,’ said Mike Fries, CEO of Liberty Global. ‘The investment continues our approach of disciplined capital rotation across our Ventures portfolio and our strategy of making long-term investments in highly attractive businesses.”

Formula E is in the midst of their 10th season which saw a midseason technology shift in their GEN3 EVO car which sees acceleration surpassing F1 cars and will see the GEN4 car debut in Season 11.

The Season 11 calendar was revealed earlier this week with the U.S. race moving from Portland, OR to Homestead Raceway in Miami in 2025. A second race in either the U.S. or China is likely to occur as the March 8 race is listed as TBD.

Warner Brothers/Discovery has been in the midst of a change in sports properties they either have an ownership equity in or media rights interest. They are working to retain a portion of the NBA media rights n TNT after Disney, Amazon and NBCUniversal inked deals with the league.

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“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, CEO 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.”

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Maury Brown
Maury Brown
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