Formula 1 teams that "buy shares in the sport's holding company will be forced to retain them for at least a decade as part of a deal engineered by its prospective new owners," according to Mark Kleinman of SKY NEWS. A prospectus circulated last week outlined Liberty Media Group's "proposals to offer every F1 constructor a direct economic stake in the sport." The document "hints" at Liberty Media's plans for "radical changes" to the administration and marketing of F1, and reflects a request from some team owners for "greater alignment between them and the sport's parent." It also raises the prospect of changes to the role of CEO Bernie Ecclestone referring to shareholder directors being "notified and consulted at least five business days in advance of a change of control or change of CEO." According to the term-sheet circulated in recent days, "the two teams holding the largest number of Liberty Media Corp stock will have the right to nominate one director each" to the board of Delta Topco, F1's immediate parent company. Liberty's plans will allow each of the teams to purchase a maximum of 5% of the company's shares, with an option to scale back the total number of shares sold to teams to an aggregate 22% if the offer is fully subscribed. One F1 insider described the placing as "a goodwill gesture" because they were being sold at $21.26 per share, a "substantial discount" to both Liberty Media Group's current stock price and a $25-per-share offering to institutional investors which took place last month. The latest developments come as Liberty Media "prepares to finalise its takeover of F1 in the coming weeks," with a vote by its shareholders due to take place on Jan. 17, and approval from the motorsport governing body, the FIA, "expected shortly afterwards" (SKY NEWS, 1/9).
