European Authorities No Longer Investigating F1 Sale To Liberty Media

<div">European competition authorities "have drawn a line in the sand on an investigation into the sale of Formula One, rejecting calls from hundreds of MEPs to look into Liberty Media's takeover of the sport," according to Oliver Gill of CITY AM. UK MEP Anneliese Dodds on Monday received a response from European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager saying that "she would not be further investigating the sale" of F1, which was completed in January.

On Feb. 14, the European Parliament "overwhelmingly backed calls by Dodds," by 467 votes to 156, for an investigation into "anti-competitive practices" in F1. The vote, together with further comments by Dodds, led to the FIA "attacking" the Labour representative, calling her motion "inaccurately informed or made maliciously."

But despite the backing of MEPs, Vestager said that the transaction "did not satisfy the turnover thresholds that must be met to fall within the Commission's jurisdiction." Vestager added, "The transaction was notified instead to National Competition Authorities in several member states, namely Austria, Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom, all which approved it last year" CITY AM