F1: Ecclestone says Liberty is entering to make money

Bernie Ecclestone has warned that Liberty Media will be no different to previous owners CVC, in its intention to make money from Formula 1.

Liberty completed the first phase of acquiring a majority shareholding in F1 on Wednesday, with the company due to ultimately take up a 35.3% stake in the first quarter of 2017.

Liberty confirmed the deal is worth an enterprise value of $8 billion, while Ecclestone will remain as the CEO with Chase Carey installed as chairman.

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After 10 years as the majority shareholder, private equity firm CVC Capital Partners will take a step back, becoming the second largest with a 24.7% stake after selling a 13.4% share to Liberty.

During CVC's involvement in F1, it was often heavily criticized for the fact it appeared to simply take money from F1 without putting anything back in.

Three years ago, Force India deputy team principal Bob Fernley infamously accused CVC of "raping the sport" and that it had done "an absolutely awful job." Ecclestone has stated, however, that Liberty Media – run by media mogul and billionaire philanthropist John Malone – will not simply be coming into F1 for the fun of it.

"I don't know why anybody criticized CVC because they were shareholders, they weren't management," Ecclestone said before the deal was announced. "They bought the company to make money, and that will be the intention of Liberty.

"They're not looking at it as a hobby, so it's no different to CVC. But I'm really hoping this deal is still going to be beneficial for Formula 1.

"Everyone seems positive and happy with this deal, and I fall into that group."

Originally on Autosport.com