$20 billion is not even the starting price for Liberty Media to sell F1

F1's parent company Liberty Media has no plans of selling the racing series which it bought in 2016. Greg Maffei, CEO of the media giant, has mocked the $20 billion price tag on the sport, saying the company would want a "hell of a lot more."

Liberty Media purchased F1 seven years ago for $4.2 billion with its value growing multifold times since then. In January, rumors emerged stating that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund offered $20 billion to buy Formula 1 from its current owners.

Maffei once again dismissed those rumors, reiterating that Liberty Media had not received any such offers from their Saudi partners. Appearing on Walker Webcast, Maffei said.

"I’ve said this publicly before, the Saudis have been partners on a couple of things – they have a race there. Aramco is a sponsor, but they never approached us."

Commenting on the alleged price tag, the CEO added:

"And, frankly, $20 billion would not be an attractive price. It’s trading for 17/18, so why 20? I’d want a hell of a lot more than that! We’re pretty bullish on the future."

Even though the previous asking price was four times what the asset cost Liberty Media in 2016, F1 is still booming in various parts of the world. The bullish outlook by the owners suggests they will retain it for many years to come.

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Selling F1 is currently not a choice for Liberty Media

Greg Maffei at the Miami GP

Greg Maffei admitted that selling F1 was not on the board for Liberty Media due to the structural organization of the parent company. He explained that the company is a C corporation, meaning when they sell a division like Formula 1, the entity and the shareholders (owners) are taxed separately.

Maffei added that if the company wanted to sell F1, they would have to first spin off the division and create a separate company. Then, they will have to wait for a sufficient time before selling to avoid corporate-level tax.

"So what I [am] saying is, the way we are structured today, given that tax basis, we would not be sellers," the CEO of Liberty Media said.

"If we wish to be sellers, or even consider it, you’d need to do a spin and, spinning it away, there are other reasons why we might do that – it’s not just to do a sale, but the way we are structured that would be very unattractive."

As per Maffei's statements, Formula 1 is certainly not changing hands for the foreseeable future.