Liberty Media bought Formula 1 back in 2017 as per the Financial Times (FT). This deal was worth $8 billion. Since then, the American company has made only profits and seen a rise in the valuation of the apex motorsport. Seeing their success in F1, the same company made a bid in Moto GP and now as per FT, John Malone, the chairman of Liberty Media, is close to acquiring Dorna Sports, which can cost them $4.2 billion.
Dorna Sports is probably the one-stop destination for motorbike racing. Apart from Moto GP, it also promotes the Superbike World Championship and an electric biking series called MotoE. The Madrid-based company sees over 251 races in a year in 20 countries.
However, Liberty Media wasn’t the only one in the race. Qatar-based investments, who also own PSG, and TKO were in the race as well. The deal by Liberty Media values Dorna around $4.2 billion, which also includes debt.
The report suggests that the F1 owners are highly keen on this acquisition, as it would give them a chance to show that the success with F1 was not a one-off. Greg Maffei, who is the chief executive officer of Liberty Media, has provided immense success to the open-wheel car competition in broadcasting, sponsorship, and advertisements, and Moto GP’s revenue model also revolves around a similar model.
But there are likely thorns in the way. The last time when F1 and Moto GP were under the same umbrella, there were significant concerns.
Formula 1 owners Liberty Media may see some scrutiny
Private firm CVC Capital Partners once owned both racing series (F1 and Moto GP). However, in 2006, the firm was forced to sell the bike racing series after EU competition regulators raised concerns. 11 years later, CVC sold F1 to Liberty Media, who are now aiming to do the same.
The report by FT states they reached out to Bridgepoint, CPPIB (the majority owners of Dorna), Dorna, Liberty Media, F1, TKO, and QSI. But all the parties declined to comment.
James Killick, a competition lawyer at White & Case, was one of the very few who commented on this case. “I’d be very surprised if competition regulators didn’t look at it,” he said. “The question is has the market changed?”
In the end, the report does state that if the negotiations are met, Liberty Media is likely to push the announcement to the next week. If all goes well for Liberty Media, it will certainly have a monopoly over the motorsport world.
