Australian Judith Griggs could earn more than $20M from the sale of F1 to Liberty Media, according to John Stensholt of the AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW. Griggs, the one-time CEO of the Australian Grand Prix Corp. who started in the job when the race controversially moved to Melbourne in '96, has for some time held a 0.5% stake in the business.
According to Christian Sylt, Griggs can emerge with a stake worth about $22M after the "complicated deal under which Liberty plans to buy the sport in two transactions." Sylt said,
"Judith was one of the management who was rewarded for years of service soon after … CVC took over F1 for $2 billion in 2006. Management got shares in the business and it has paid off as they have quadrupled in value since then. At 0.5 percent, Judith has a significant stake which is worth around $22 million. It reflects her early work for Formula One's corporate hospitality outfit the Paddock Club which now makes more than $100 million in annual revenue." Formula One Management, a group of execs that includes Griggs, "will have their stake diluted from 2.8 per cent of the business to 1.8 per cent under the plan." F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone "will stay in control of the sport as its figurehead, and will personally keep a 3.3 per cent shareholding."
Former AGPC Chair Ron Walker said, "I spoke to Bernie on the phone and he said the deal was about pushing Formula One into the United States, where it needs to be" (AFR, 9/11).
NO CHANGES: In London, Charles Sale reported Sky’s £1B ($1.3B) contract to televise F1 until '24 "will not be affected by Liberty Media’s takeover of the sport, despite their ownership of Sky rivals Virgin Media, Discovery and Eurosport."
There has been widespread speculation that Liberty’s imminent takeover "would impact on Sky’s live coverage of every grand prix for the next eight years." But it has emerged that Sky’s huge investment in F1 "was one of the reasons for US media giants Liberty buying a controlling interest" for £3.3B ($4.4B) (DAILY MAIL, 9/10).
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Chase Carey
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TAKE IT UP A NOTCH: Also in London, Daniel Johnson reported Chase Carey, one of Rupert Murdoch’s closest lieutenants and Ecclestone’s new rival at the summit of Formula 1, "has promised to take the sport to the 'next level'" after a £6B ($8B) takeover. Carey "poses perhaps Ecclestone’s greatest challenge for control in decades." F1’s 85-year-old CEO "has been given a three-year contract by the new owners, John Malone’s Liberty Media, yet he has always worked alone." Carey: "Building the sport in Europe, building on that foundation, has got to be second to none. We do want to take advantage of the global footprint of this sport, we want to focus on it.” Carey also "signalled plans to expand the current 21-race calendar, something which it likely to fill the sport’s staff with dread" (TELEGRAPH, 9/8). In London, Matthew Garrahan wrote Carey "was a calm, steadying figure" at Murdoch’s side during the "turmoil of the phone-hacking scandal." He was a regular presence on earnings calls, his "somnolent tones and tendency to delve into the most granular aspects of operations making him popular with market analysts."
He is "revered on Wall Street, where his negotiating skills are as notable as his impressive handlebar moustache." BTIG Research analyst Rich Greenfield said, “He is one of the hardest negotiators in the business. He has a long history with John Malone and he loves sports." Greenfield added that the F1 switch is "a great move for him." MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson said, “He has always believed in the power of live sport and the ability to monetize it. [At DirecTV] he made sports the core selling point [of the service]" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 9/9).
AMERICA AN OPPORTUNITY: SKY SPORTS' Simeon Gholam reported Carey insisted Liberty Media will not try and "Americanise" F1. He said, "I want to be clear, we didn't make this move because of America. America is an opportunity, I think we can do a lot more [there], but it's probably more long-term than short-term. It will take time to build the audience, but there's a much more passionate fan base than anybody realizes in America. I think we can do a lot to develop that but realistically it's a global sport, we're not trying to Americanize the sport ... This is a great global sport, a great franchise and one we're just going to continue to build on the things Bernie has built" (SKY SPORTS, 9/11).
