New FE shareholders' stake "very big," Agag says

The stake taken in Formula E by two allied U.S. media groups earlier this month makes them the combined largest shareholder in the championship, series boss Alejandro Agag has admitted.

Liberty Global and Discovery Communications, which are both part of media mogul John Malone's empire, bought into Hong Kong-based Formula E Holdings last month, taking what was described by the series as a minority shareholding. Together they now control a greater percentage of the company than any of the other 11 shareholders, though their stake remains under 50 percent. Agag would not reveal the exact percentage, nor the extent of the investment by Liberty Global and Discovery Communications in the Formula E Championship, but he said that it was "very big." He revealed that the investment from the two companies secured the future of Formula E for "multi-seasons." "When you are discussing with car manufacturers and big sponsors, they want to know that the championship is going to be here in two years, five years or 10 years," he said. "Two weeks ago, the answer to that question was, 'we really hope so'; now the answer is 'yes'. "Formula E was a great idea and a fantastic start-up. Now it is a solid long-term company with a shareholding from two major global media conglomerates." He added that the partnership would take Formula E "to the next level." "We are just starting to scratch the surface of the possibilities with those groups," he explained. "We expect them to help us develop our championship in the digital direction." The Liberty Global group of companies includes Virgin Media in the UK, while Discovery Communications controls Eurosport as well as owning the Discovery Channel.

Originally on Autosport.com