Industry News: F1, MotoGP owner Liberty now buys Formula E

(GMM) Liberty, the John Malone-controlled group of entities, has added another premier motor racing category to its roster – Formula E.

The first major motorsport acquisition, Formula 1, has been transformed since it was taken over in 2017 by Liberty Media.

“The success factor in recent years is that we understood that if you present an event only as a sporting event, you lose popularity,” F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said in an appearance this week on the Italian podcast 2046.

More recently, in 2024, they also took over the motorcycling world championship MotoGP. And now, it has been announced that Liberty Global, also headed by American billionaire businessman Malone, is the all-electric single seater category Formula E.

Liberty’s statement said it will acquire the shares formerly held by Warner Bros. pending regulatory approval, taking its stake to a controlling 65 percent.

“We’re excited to take a controlling interest in Formula E, a business we first invested in nearly ten years ago,” said Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries.

“Formula E has a massive potential for further growth while integrating the most advanced sustainability standards in sports.”