F1: Liberty stockholders to vote on deal in January

Stockholders in Liberty Media will vote on plans relating to the takeover of Formula 1 in January, the company has announced.

Liberty agreed terms to become the majority stockholder in F1 back in September, acquiring an initial 18.7% stake ahead of a planned purchase of 100% of the stock of the sport's parent company Delta Topco. As part of the deal, Liberty will pay the selling stockholders a mix of cash and newly issued Liberty Media Group stock, with the whole transaction giving F1 an enterprise value of $8 billion.

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A meeting has been called for the morning of Jan. 17 at Liberty's corporate offices in Colorado, where the stockholders will vote on the next phase of the takeover, including whether to approve the new stock and the renaming to become the Formula One Group.

"At the special meeting, holders will be asked to vote on proposals relating to Liberty's issuance of shares of its Series C Liberty Media common stock in connection with the proposed acquisition of Formula 1 and the renaming of the Liberty Media Group and the Liberty Media common stock to the Formula One Group and the Liberty Formula One common stock, respectively, following the proposed acquisition of Formula 1 by Liberty," a press release from Liberty Media Corporation read.

Approval from the stockholders is one of three key conditions Liberty outlined when announcing the original takeover. The other two included "receipt of ... certain clearances and approvals by antitrust and competition law authorities in various countries ... and certain third-party consents and approvals, including that of the FIA".

On Nov. 7, Britain's Competition and Markets Authority launched a merger inquiry into Liberty's anticipated acquisition of the Formula One Group, giving a deadline of Jan. 5, 2017 for a decision on whether to take the case further.

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