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Buying Formula One, or its parent company, Liberty Media, got a little more complicated and more expensive in the last week.
Here’s what’s going on.
Wolfe Research analyst Peter Supino modeled what a takeover of Liberty would cost and landed on $120 to $140 a share. He named TKO, the company that owns UFC and WWE, as the most logical buyer. TKO declined to comment. On November 6, Goldman Sachs raised its price target for Liberty’s Series C shares from $116 to $120, right at the bottom of that range.
Liberty’s Series C shares closed at $98.93 on November 4. The next morning, Liberty reported third-quarter earnings and announced a share swap that took away John Malone’s voting control. By the November 10 close, the stock was at $108.94. Both pieces of news came out the same morning, so you can’t tell which one moved it.
Why does…