Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos eyeing deal to block Newcastle United owners’ fresh sport power play

The company which owns the commercial rights to Formula 1 has spoken out amid interest from the likes of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Newcastle United owners PIF.

American company Liberty Media purchased a majority stake in F1 in 2017 for around £3.3bn. But since then the sport has only become more lucrative and attractive to buyers- thanks to Netflix series Drive to Survive.

Forbes listed Liberty as the ‘World’s Most Valuable Sports Empire’ for 2023, valuing its sporting assets at £16.8bn.

Earlier this year it was reported the Saudi PIF offered £16bn to buy the sport which was rejected immediately.

According to The Mirror, this month, billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos were spotted at the Miami Grand Prix suggesting their financial interest in the sport.

However, last week, Greg Maffei, Liberty Media chief executive, said: “Anyone says that our friends the Saudis are going to buy it next week or something like that, if anybody knows us, they should know that’s just not in our cards.

“We are very enthused about where Formula 1 is now, but where it’s going as well. You look at the big revenue streams there, all have good direction.

“In broadcasting we have increased fans and we have increased distributors who want to push the product, including new digital distributors and the like. We have promoters who are our partners.

“The gate was probably up in Miami – that’s not unique. They’re selling out everywhere, particularly the high-end experiences, the Paddock Clubs, all at better prices. So we are able to get upticks in what we get paid.

“We have been able to add a few races and there’s maybe a little more room left there. And then sponsorship has grown dramatically. We’ve opened up the number of global sponsors. I think we’ve gone from five to 12 of our biggest sponsor types.

“We are continuing to see traction there and I think we’re well set up. We have a new opportunity with what we’re doing in Las Vegas where we will be the promoter and we have a opportunity to learn about something and hopefully set the bar.”

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