Liberty Media Chair John Malone is working through his company "to buy a large minority stake in the firm that owns Formula One racing," according to Claire Atkinson of the N.Y. POST. Sources said that Liberty Global and Discovery Communications "are working alongside Liberty Media to purchase as much as 49 percent of Formula One Group from private equity powerhouse CVC Capital." While the talks are "in the early stages and could eventually fall apart, the purchase of the global open-wheel racing circuit would put Malone on the other side of the table when it comes to sports rights fees." Sources said that Formula One Group "is valued at between" $7-8B. A source said F1 "could be used to drive" Eurosport, as Discovery last month announced that it was increasing its stake in Eurosport from 21% to 51%. Malone controls 29% "of the voting power" at Discovery. Liberty Media also owns the Braves (N.Y. POST, 2/3). The Teachers’ Retirement System of Texas in October ’12 acquired a 3% stake in F1 from the estate of Lehman Brothers, valued at $200M (THE DAILY).
