Liberty braced to deny fresh F1 takeover speculation following Maffei departure

CEO Greg Maffei will leave his role at the end of the year and, even though it is not believed to be linked to F1 sale plans, it will not stop speculation of a takeover

Greg Maffei’s impending departure from Liberty Media will undoubtedly once again bring forth rumours of Formula 1 being up for sale, regardless of the stance taken by the current owners.

The president and CEO of Liberty, Maffei played a leading role in the F1 takeover in 2017 and has more recently driven the purchase of MotoGP from Dorna, a deal expected to be completed in the coming weeks.

His exit was announced on Wednesday ahead of the markets opening in New York, with FWONK stock up on their overnight price.

Maffei is due to depart Liberty when his contract expires at the end of the year, having joined the company in 2005 – during which time the 64-year-old was at the helm as CEO while Liberty acquired or invested in the likes of DirecTV, SiriusXM and the Major League Baseball franchise the Atlanta Braves.

His portfolio has thinned in recent times and, alongside the loss of responsibility, it is believed Maffei is keen to move on himself.

Under Liberty’s ownership, F1 has seen a groundswell in both support and revenue to the extent that reports surfaced last year that the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund was aiming a takeover of its own.

Maffei rubbished those rumours and Autosport understands his announced departure has nothing to do with a change of stance, with Liberty remaining steadfast that the series is not for sale.

Likewise, the US Department of Justice investigation into Liberty concerning its rejection of Andretti’s bid to join F1 is understood to have had no impact on Maffei’s exit.

Maffei confirmed during a quarterly earnings call in August that the company faced an official probe by the justice department's Antitrust Division over the legality of refusing entry to Michael Andretti's team.

The fact Maffei is set to operate in a senior advisor role to ease the management transition, with Liberty chairman John Malone stepping in on an interim basis, suggests no ill-will in the parting of ways.

It did, however, coincide with an announcement that Liberty Media was planning a split-off between the Liberty Live Group and the subsidiaries within.

“The almost 20 years I have spent at the helm of Liberty Media have been incredibly rewarding, stimulating and endlessly eventful," Maffei said.

"Following today’s announcements at Liberty Media and Liberty Broadband, all the Liberty acquisitions completed during my tenure are now in structures where shareholders can have more direct ownership in their upside.”

Malone will also likely be relying on the expertise of F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, whose own position is expected to have been strengthened by Maffei’s departure given his own wealth of experience in the series.