Everyone knows about Formula 1. But not many people know about its owner and managing company. Yet, the holder of the commercial rights to Formula 1, Liberty Media, has topped Forbes’ list of the most valuable sports empires for the second year in a row.
Liberty Media is owned by billionaire John Malone, with a personal fortune of $9 billion. This isn’t his only asset, but one of the largest. Malone also owns Liberty Global, the investment fund Qurate Retail Group. Recently, they separated and listed the Major League Baseball club Atlanta Braves as a separate holding. It used to be part of Liberty Media, but to increase asset liquidity, all related real estate assets were structured into one company with a market value of $2.5 billion.
Let’s see what else the F1 owner owns. And if you want to bet on a racing event or other sports events, you can do this on the Mostbet app.
Formula 1 is the main and most valuable asset
Media rights and the entire structure of hosting Grands Prix, contracts, broadcasters, and the FOM management company belong to Liberty Media. Essentially, the ‘stock market’ of F1 is Liberty Media: the motorsport branch along with other assets. The current market capitalization is $14 billion, reaching a maximum of $16.3 billion in mid-2023.
LV Diamond Property: the company owns the land, paddock, and track for the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
The year 2023 will forever be remembered in Formula 1 and sports business thanks to the race in Vegas – the championship organized and promoted it for the first time. Before this, it marked grand investments: the purchase of 40 acres of land in the city center for $240 million and massive infrastructure investments for a long-term headquarters in the form of a paddock. Vegas is planned to become the home of F1 in the USA, hence investments in buildings and real estate amounted to at least $235 million. An additional $280 million went into barriers, grandstands, and other permanent constructions.
QuintEvents: the ticket super-operator
A recent acquisition of the conglomerate – QuintEvents: the deal amounted to $313 million. QuintEvents organized and sold tickets for 90 various top global events: from Formula 1 Grands Prix to NBA, NHL, NASCAR, the American Kentucky Derby (the continent’s largest horse race), epic American horse races Breeders’ Cup and Belmont Stakes with a prize fund of $6 million, all stages of MotoGP, matches of the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers from the NFL, the British Open golf championship.
Liberty Live: a group of promoter companies and investment funds
It includes:
Liberty Technology Venture Capital, 80%. An investment company with a $3 billion portfolio – engaged in small investments of $5-10 million in promising technology companies. The official website claims a portfolio of 75 successful cases.
Live Nation, 30%. A concert promoter who assisted in organizing the Vegas Grand Prix. Its total capitalization is $21 billion, so Liberty owns a stake of $7 billion. Its portfolio includes the ticket giant Ticketmaster and a media corporation, stemming from Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label (manages Rihanna, Alicia Keys, Jay-Z himself, and a bunch of popular new wave rappers, as well as some NFL footballers). Since 2007, Live Nation has developed and toured with Madonna for 10 years, and organized concerts for U2, Shakira, and Nickelback for 12 years. Currently, they organize tours for Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Depeche Mode, Metallica, 30 Seconds To Mars, and Adele. They also own a network of theaters, arenas, concert halls, and auditoriums across the USA and Europe – and even the Hollywood Casino network belongs to them.”
SiriusXM Radio, 84%. An online and satellite radio covering everything from sports to music and weather, with 35 million subscribers and a capitalization of $20 billion. Currently, it is not extensively used for the full promotion of Formula 1.
So, while the sporting assets of the Liberty empire account for about $18 billion, the corporation owns properties worth around $44 billion, and it could mobilize much more for the promotion, advertising, and promotion of Formula 1 if necessary.
