Liberty Media’s takeover of Formula 1 is facing a "potential roadblock" after a senior European politician has written to anti-trust authorities asking them "to step in and investigate" an alleged conflict of interest at the heart of the deal, according to Christian Sylt for AUTOWEEK. The concern surrounds FIA and, in particular, its 1% stake in F1’s parent company Delta Topco. In '13, the company, which is controlled by the investment fund CVC, sold the 1% stake to the FIA for the bargain-basement price of $458,197. The 1% is now worth $44M, but it "came with a catch -- it can only be cashed in" when CVC sells its 38.1% stake in Delta Topco, and "in order for the sale to go ahead the FIA’s consent is required." In summary, if the FIA approves the sale of F1 it will make a $43.5M profit, and this has fueled "the suggestion that it is a conflict of interest." The concern comes from British politician Anneliese Dodds, "who has been looking into allegations of anti-competition in F1" for two years since the collapse of the Marussia and Caterham F1 teams, which were both based in her region. The difficulty for the FIA "is compounded" by an agreement it made with the EC in '01 following a previous anti-trust investigation into F1. The EC claimed that the FIA favored F1 but released a statement in '01 saying that it had closed the file after "the FIA agreed to modify its rules to bring them into line with EU law. ... The modifications introduced by FIA will ensure that the role of FIA will be limited to that of a sports regulator, with no commercial conflicts of interest. ... To prevent conflicts of interest, FIA has sold all its rights in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship." The FIA’s consent "is required" to ensure that F1 does not fall into the wrong hands, and "there is no suggestion that Liberty would not fit the bill." Nevertheless, the reward for cashing in the 1% stake "could be an incentive for the FIA to approve a buyer, and this fuels the risk of bias" even if there actually is not any (AUTOWEEK, 9/26). MOTORSPORT's Adam Cooper reported Dodds has previously taken an interest in F1 "due to the presence of several teams in her South East of England constituency," with specific regard to the way the sport's income is distributed. Last year Sauber and Force India "joined forces to forward an official EU complaint about alleged anti-competitive practices." Commenting on the letter, Dodds "was keen to point out that the Force India/Sauber case is also still ongoing." She said, "I have also asked the Commission for an update into their assessment of whether to launch a full investigation into anti-competitive practices within the sport. The current financial structure ensures the big teams will always receive the largest share of prize money, regardless of where they finish on the grid. We have already lost two good teams in my constituency [Caterham and Marussia] and it is likely that more will follow if the situation doesn't change soon" (MOTORSPORT, 9/26).
