Liberty Media to buy MotoGP for billions of dollars
General
Formula 1 owner Liberty Media are about to close a new billion-dollar deal. The US group is almost certainly going to take over MotoGP for as much as $4 billion. This has been reported by The Financial Times. Negotiations with Dorna Sports, the current owner of MotoGP, have moved to the final stage.
An official announcement is expected before the third round of MotoGP in 2024, which takes place between 12-14th April. This event takes place in the United States.
Delay
Both parties initially intended to unveil the takeover before the MotoGP season opener in Qatar, but concerns over scrutiny from European Commission competition authorities put a short delay on the announcement. If both Formula 1 and MotoGP are owned by one party, competition will be sidelined, and additional questions are now being raised about that.
The European Commission is expected to approve the takeover soon. When Bernie Ecclestone and CVC wanted to acquire the rights to F1 and MotoGP in 2006, it was blocked to preserve competition in the market, but the green light now seems imminent.
Liberty Media was not the only candidate to take over MotoGP. Qatar Sports Investments and TKO—both very capital-rich—were also in the market, but they missed out.