The acquisition deal of Dorna Sports, promoter of MotoGP, by Liberty Media – current owner of Formula 1, may be close to being finalized. The value of the deal could exceed four billion euros.
According to the Financial Times, a proposal from the sports and entertainment group TKO was rejected. Qatar Sports Investments also showed some interest. However, Liberty Media now appears to be on track to finalize the acquisition deal of Dorna Sports – whose current owner is the investment fund Bridgepoint.
If confirmed, MotoGP and F1 will once again have the same owner – as was the case when they were under the control of CVC Capital Partners until it was forced to sell MotoGP in 2006 due to European Union anti-competition regulations. Authorities are expected to scrutinize any potential agreement with Liberty Media intensively.
The agreement seems to be close, amounting to over four billion euros including debts. The announcement could be made as early as next week, after Easter. Liberty Media bought F1 in 2017 and since then, the top category of single-seaters has experienced exponential growth. A success that will now try to replicate in MotoGP.
