Orrick advised the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the world governing body of motor sports, in connection with Liberty Media's acquisition of Delta Topco Limited, the parent company of Formula 1. Created by FIA in 1946, Formula 1 is the world's most popular racing car series.
Liberty Media's purchase of Formula 1 was composed of cash, NASDAQ-listed Series C shares of Liberty Media's tracking stock "LMCK", and a debt instrument exchangeable into LMCK shares. The transaction price represents an enterprise value of $8 billion and an equity value of $4.4 billion, calculated at the time of the transaction announcement.
An Orrick multijurisdictional team led by Jean-Pierre Martel, with support from Etienne Boursican and Delphine Camboulives in Paris, Hilary Winter and Jinal Shah in London and Ahalya Sri Hildreth in San Francisco, assisted FIA in dealing with its regulatory duties, its approval of the transaction and in the sale of its stake in Delta Topco.
With the completion of the acquisition, Liberty Media will be renamed the Formula One Group. F1 has appointed Chase Carey, vice chairman of 21st Century Fox, as Chief Executive Officer, in addition to his existing role as Chairman, while Chairman Emeritus Bernie Ecclestone will serve as a resource to F1's board.