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Liberty Media F1 takeover approved by shareholders

Liberty Media edged closer to completing its purchase of Formula 1 when its shareholders approved the deal on Tuesday.

The American organisation is set to become F1's biggest shareholder through the purchase of shares from a consortium of sellers led by majority shareholder CVC Capital Partners.

Last month, it announced it has raised $1.55billion from investors in subscriptions for newly issued shares in connection with its acquisition of F1.

But in order to complete the deal, it needs to meet three criteria.

The first was achieved when it said it had received all required approvals from antitrust authorities regarding the deal.

On Tuesday, its shareholders attended a special meeting to vote on the acquisition and approval was given to meet the second criteria.

Finally, Liberty requires approval of F1's governing body the FIA, which has called an extraordinary meeting of the World Motor Sport Council on Wednesday.

The WMSC gathering will likely be a precursor to the FIA giving the necessary blessing to the Liberty takeover.

At Tuesday's meeting, shareholders also agreed to rename the company Formula One Group.

Liberty is aiming for the acquisition to close before the end of the first quarter in 2017.

Zdroj: autosport.com