F1 Owner Liberty Media To Spin Off Entertainment Assets as CEO Steps Down

Liberty Media (FWONA, FWONK, LLYVA, LLYVK) said it plans to spin off most of its entertainment assets besides Formula One into a separately traded entity, Liberty Live, and announced CEO Greg Maffei is stepping down.

Liberty Live will take with it the company’s stake in Live Nation Entertainment, about 30% as of July 31. It will also hold Quint, a ticket and hospitality firm for the sports and entertainment industry. Liberty Media will retain Formula One, which it acquired in 2017, along with motorcycle racing operator MotoGP. The company expects the split to be completed in the second half of 2025. 

Longtime CEO Greg Maffei will step down from the company at the end of 2024, with Liberty Media chair and billionaire cable mogul John Malone taking over as interim CEO.

Liberty Media said the spin-off will help simplify its complex stock structure, with separate tracking stocks for its Formula One and Liberty Live divisions. Shares of the Formula One stock’s Class C shares rose about 6% Wednesday, while Liberty Live Class C shares slid 2%.

Liberty Broadband To be Acquired by Charter

Separately, Liberty Broadband (LBRDK) announced Wednesday it is being acquired by Charter Communications (CHTR). Liberty Broadband, spun out from Liberty Media in 2014, held a 36% stake in Charter as of July 31.

The deal will see Liberty Broadband shareholders receive 0.236 of one Charter share for each Liberty share they own. It is expected to close in mid-2027.

Charter shares gained close to 4% Wednesday, while Liberty Broadband shares dipped 5%.