The American Liberty Media has already signed a contract for MotoGP, but the intervention of the EU authorities is worrying.
The American media company Liberty Media is buying the World Championship MotoGP for its ownership. The four-billion-euro contract is ready for publication, media information says.
Liberty Media is buying Dorna Sport, which owns the commercial rights to MotoGP. Dorna also owns the Superbike World Series and the electric motorcycle MotoE series. Dorna organizes 251 competitions in 20 countries every year.
The agreement between the parties was finalized several weeks ago, Autosport says. According to the media, the agreement is to be announced in the next few days – at the latest before the US competition, which will take place on the 12th-14th. April.
The deal would combine the World Series of formula and track motorcycling under the ownership of the same company. Liberty also owns the Formula 1 series, which it bought for an estimated eight billion euros in 2017.
The intervention of the EU authorities is worrying
Liberty and the Spanish company Dorna wanted to publish the agreement before the start of the current season, but the possible intervention of the European Commission postponed the plans. The EU Commission manages the competition market in Europe.
American The Financial Times reportsthat the parties are concerned about the likely investigation by the EU authorities.
In the past, the Luxembourg private equity firm CVC Capital Partners owned both F1 and MotoGP. However, the intervention of the European Commission forced the company to sell the track motorcycling series in 2006 when it bought Formula One. Now the same opportunity to think about Liberty and Dorna.
Antitrust attorney at White & Case law firm James Killick assessed to the Financial Times that F1 and MotoGP’s long histories and possible combined ownership will certainly attract the interest of competition authorities throughout the EU.
– I would be very surprised if the competition authorities did not take up the case. The question, however, is whether the market has changed, says Killick.
According to the Financial Times, TKO and Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) were also involved in the competition to buy the MotoGP contract. TKO owns the show wrestling series WWE and the freestyle wrestling series UFC. QSI is also known for owning the French football club Paris Saint-Germain.
Dorna Sport is owned by the British Bridgepoint and the Canadian Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB). Bridgepoint, CPPIB, Dorna, Liberty Media, F1, TKO and QSI declined to comment to the Financial Times.