OREANDA-NEWS. September 08, 2016.
Liberty Media Corporation ("
Liberty Media") (Nasdaq: LSXMA, LSXMB,
LSXMK, BATRA, BATRK, LMCA, LMCK) and
CVC Capital Partners ("CVC")
announced today that
Liberty Media has agreed to acquire Formula One,
the iconic global motorsports business, from a consortium of sellers led
by CVC.
Liberty Media owns interests in a broad range of media, communications
and entertainment businesses. Those interests are attributed to three
tracking stock groups: the Liberty SiriusXM Group, the Liberty Braves
Group, and the Liberty Media Group.
The consideration comprises cash and newly issued shares in the Liberty
Media Group tracking stock (LMCK) and a debt instrument exchangeable
into shares of LMCK. The transaction price represents an enterprise
value for Formula One of \\$8.0 billion and an equity value of \\$4.4 billion(1).
The acquisition will be effected by Liberty Media acquiring 100% of the
shares of Delta Topco, the parent company of Formula One (Delta Topco
herein referred to as "Formula One")(2). The acquisition is
subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions and is described in
more detail below.
Concurrent with the execution of the agreement to effect the
acquisition, Liberty Media has completed the acquisition of an 18.7%
minority stake in Formula One for \\$746 million, funded entirely in cash
(which is equal to \\$821 million in consideration less a \\$75 million
discount to be repaid by Liberty Media to selling stockholders upon
completion of the acquisition). Prior to completion, CVC Funds will
continue to be the controlling shareholder of Formula One.
After completion of the acquisition, Liberty Media will own Formula One
and it will be attributed to the Liberty Media Group which will be
renamed the Formula One Group. The consortium of sellers led by CVC will
own approximately 65%(1)(3) of the Formula One Group's equity
and will have board representation at Formula One to support Liberty
Media in continuing to develop the full potential of the sport. In
addition, a CVC representative will be joining the Liberty Media Board
of Directors.
Chase Carey has been appointed by Delta Topco and will serve as the new
Chairman of Formula One, succeeding
Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, who will
remain on Formula One's board as a non-executive director.
Bernie
Ecclestone will remain Formula One's CEO.
Greg Maffei, President and Chief Executive Officer of Liberty Media,
said: "We are excited to become part of Formula One. We think our
long-term perspective and expertise with media and sports assets will
allow us to be good stewards of Formula One and benefit fans, teams and
our shareholders. We look forward to working closely with
Chase Carey
and
Bernie Ecclestone to support the next phase of growth for this
hugely popular global sport."
Chase Carey, Chairman of Formula One, said: "I am thrilled to take up
the role of Chairman of Formula One and have the opportunity to work
alongside
Bernie Ecclestone, CVC, and the Liberty Media team. I greatly
admire Formula One as a unique global sports entertainment franchise
attracting hundreds of millions of fans each season from all around the
world. I see great opportunity to help Formula One continue to develop
and prosper for the benefit of the sport, fans, teams and investors
alike."
Bernie Ecclestone, Chief Executive Officer of Formula One, said: "I
would like to welcome Liberty Media and
Chase Carey to Formula One and I
look forward to working with them."
Donald Mackenzie, Co-Chairman of CVC, commented: "We are delighted
Chase
Carey is joining Formula One as its new Chairman and that he will be
working alongside
Bernie Ecclestone. Chase's experience and knowledge of
sport, media and entertainment is as good as it gets and we are very
pleased to secure his services. Bernie has been a wonderful CEO for us
over the last 10 years. There have been many successes and the
occasional challenge but there has never been a dull moment and we have
had a lot of fun. The combined skills of Chase and Bernie mean that the
successes should continue and we wish them well. We would like to thank
Peter Brabeck-Letmathe for his outstanding contribution during his
tenure as Chairman. His leadership has served the company well, and we
are pleased that he will remain on the board as a non-executive
director."
In the acquisition the selling stockholders will receive a mix of
consideration comprising: \\$1.1 billion in cash, 138 million newly issued
shares of LMCK and a \\$351 million exchangeable debt instrument to be
issued by Formula One and exchangeable into shares of LMCK. Funding for
the cash component of the acquisition is expected to come from cash on
hand at the Liberty Media Group. The newly issued LMCK shares will be
subject to market co-ordination and lock-up agreements.
The Teams will be given the opportunity to participate in the investment
in Formula One, and the detailed terms of that investment will be agreed
in due course. Certain teams have already expressed an interest in
investing after completion of the acquisition.
The interest in Formula One already acquired by Liberty Media, and the
remaining interest to be acquired upon the closing of the acquisition,
along with \\$4.1 billion of existing Formula One debt (which will be
non-recourse to Liberty Media) and \\$0.7 billion in Formula One cash, is
being attributed to the Liberty Media Group tracking stock.
Upon completion of the acquisition, the Liberty Media Group will be
renamed the Formula One Group and the ticker symbols for the Series A,
Series B and Series C Liberty Media Group tracking stocks will be
changed from LMC (A/B/K), respectively, to FWON (A/B/K), respectively.
Formula One will remain based in London.
The completion of the acquisition is subject to certain conditions,
including the receipt of: (i) certain clearances and approvals by
antitrust and competition law authorities in various countries, (ii)
certain third-party consents and approvals, including that of the
F?d?ration Internationale de l'Automobile, the governing body of Formula
One, and (iii) the approval of Liberty Media's stockholders of the
issuance of LMCK shares in connection with the acquisition and the name
change of the Liberty Media Group to the Formula One Group, and is
expected to close by the first quarter of 2017. Additional information
regarding the acquisition and Formula One will be included in a proxy
statement to be filed by Liberty Media with the Securities and Exchange
Commission relating to the matters to be voted upon by Liberty Media's
stockholders described above.
Liberty Media's President and CEO,
Greg Maffei and Formula One's
Chairman,
Chase Carey will host an investor conference call at 6:00pm ET
/ 4:00pm MT on Wednesday, September 7, 2016 to discuss the acquisition
in more detail. The call can be accessed by dialing: (i) (844) 838-8043
(U.S. / Canada), (ii) (678) 509-7480 (International) or (iii)
0800-028-8438 (U.K.) at least 10 minutes prior to the start time. The
call will also be broadcast live across the internet and archived on
Liberty Media's website. Presentation materials to be used during the
investor call have been posted to the Liberty Media website. To
access the webcast and the accompanying presentation materials go to http://www.libertymedia.com/events.
An archive of the webcast will also be available on Liberty Media's
website for one year after appropriate filings have been made with the
SEC. Relevant images for media use will be posted to Liberty Media's
website under the "What's New" section of the Liberty Media homepage.
Morgan Stanley is serving as exclusive financial advisor and Baker Botts
LLP is serving as legal advisor to Liberty Media. Goldman Sachs
International is serving as exclusive financial advisor and Freshfields
Bruckhaus Deringer and Weil, Gotshal & Manges are serving as legal
advisers to Delta Topco.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes certain forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995,
including statements relating to the proposed acquisition of Formula
One, the expected benefits of the transaction, other potential third
party investments in Formula One, the renaming of the Liberty Media
Group and the corresponding change in ticker symbols and other matters
that are not historical facts. These forward-looking statements involve
many risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those expressed or implied by such statements,
including, without limitation, the satisfaction of conditions to the
proposed acquisition of Formula One. These forward looking statements
speak only as of the date of this press release, and Liberty Media
expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any
updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein
to reflect any change in Liberty Media's expectations with regard
thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which
any such statement is based. Please refer to the publicly filed
documents of Liberty Media, including its most recent Annual Report on
Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, for risks and
uncertainties related to Liberty Media's business which may affect the
statements made in this press release.
Additional Information
Nothing in this press release shall constitute a solicitation to buy or
an offer to sell shares of Liberty Media's Series C Liberty Media common
stock or any other series of its common stock. Liberty Media
stockholders and other investors are urged to read the proxy statement
to be filed with the SEC because it will contain important information
relating to the proposed acquisition of Formula One. Copies of Liberty
Media'sSEC filings are available free of charge at the SEC's website (http://www.sec.gov).
Copies of the filings together with the materials incorporated by
reference therein will also be available, without charge, by directing a
request to Investor Relations, (720) 875-5420.
Participants in a Solicitation
The directors and executive officers of Liberty Media and other persons
may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies in
respect of any proposals relating to the proposed acquisition of Formula
One. Information regarding the directors and executive officers of
Liberty Media and other participants in the proxy solicitation and a
description of their respective direct and indirect interests, by
security holdings or otherwise, will be available in the proxy materials
regarding the foregoing to be filed with the SEC.
About Liberty Media Corporation
Liberty Media Corporation operates and owns interests in a broad range
of media, communications and entertainment businesses. Those businesses
are attributed to three tracking stock groups: the Liberty SiriusXM
Group, the Liberty Braves Group and the Liberty Media Group. The
businesses and assets attributed to the Liberty SiriusXM Group (Nasdaq:
LSXMA, LSXMB, LSXMK) include our interest in SiriusXM. The businesses
and assets attributed to the Liberty Braves Group (Nasdaq: BATRA, BATRK)
include our subsidiary Braves Holdings, LLC. The businesses and assets
attributed to the Liberty Media Group (Nasdaq: LMCA, LMCK) consist of
all of Liberty Media Corporation's businesses and assets other than
those attributed to the Liberty SiriusXM Group and the Liberty Braves
Group, including its interests in Live Nation Entertainment and Formula
One, and minority equity investments in Time Warner Inc. and Viacom.
About CVC Capital Partners
CVC Capital Partners is one of the world's leading private equity and
investment advisory firms. Founded in 1981, CVC today has a network of
24 offices and over 400 employees throughout Europe, Asia and the US. To
date, CVC has secured commitments of over US\\$85 billion in funds from a
diverse and loyal investor base, completing over 300 investments in a
wide range of industries and countries across the globe, with an
aggregate enterprise purchase value of over US\\$250 billion.
For further information about CVC, please visit: www.cvc.com.
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1)
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Calculated at time of transaction announcement.
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2)
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Other than a nominal number of shares held by certain Formula One
teams.
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3)
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65% based on the undiluted share count as of 7/31/2016 and is
inclusive of the dilutive impact of the \\$351 million exchangeable
debt instrument.
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