Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei on the sidelines of the Las Vegas F1 GP, April 21, 2023 (GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/Archives/Ethan Miller)
After Formula 1, MotoGP! With the acquisition announced Monday of Dorna Sports, owner of the rights to the premier motorcycle category championship, the American group Liberty Media becomes the undisputed king of motor sports.
The operation, which values Dorna Sports at 4.2 billion euros including debt, however remains subject to the approval of the regulatory authorities of several jurisdictions, recalls the American group in a press release.
In detail, Liberty Media, already owner of Formula 1 since 2017, will acquire, in cash and shares, 86% of Dorna Sports, with the managers of the Madrid-based company retaining control of the remaining shares.
“We are very pleased to expand our portfolio in the sports and entertainment sector with the acquisition of the MotoGP championship,” commented Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei, quoted in a press release.
“This is a growing business, and we want to make it grow further for MotoGP fans, the teams, its commercial partners and our shareholders,” he promised.
Dorna Sports, whose CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta will remain in office according to Liberty Media, was previously controlled by the Bridgepoint fund and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Fund.
According to an article published by the Financial Times last week, QSI, the sovereign fund of Qatar which owns Paris Saint-Germain, and the holding company TKO Group, bringing together the American professional wrestling league (WWE) and that of mixed martial arts ( MMA), had also held discussions for the takeover of Dorna with its owners.
“This is the ideal step in the evolution of MotoGP, and we are excited about what this new milestone will bring to Dorna, the MotoGP paddock and motorsport fans,” said Carmelo Ezpeleta, quoted in the same press release.
– The show for leitmotif –
“We are proud of how we have grown this global sport, and this transaction is a testament to its value today and its growth potential. Liberty has a superb track record in developing sports businesses, and we could not dream of a better partner to further increase the number of MotoGP fans around the world,” added Carmelo Ezpeleta.
“Since the first season in 1949, which included six races in Europe, MotoGP has grown considerably, and the championship will include 21 races in 17 countries” in 2024, Liberty Media further recalls.
The American company says it hopes to complete the operation by the end of 2024.
Italian Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), reigning MotoGP world champion, during the Portuguese GP in Portimao (south), March 23, 2024 (AFP/Archives/PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA)
This acquisition, which would give the Liberty Media group control of Formula 1 and the MotoGP championship, could however be closely scrutinized by competition control authorities.
In 2006, the Luxembourg fund CVC, for example, was forced by the European competition watchdog to sell Dorna, already a promoter of the MotoGP championship, when it wanted to acquire the British holding company which then controlled the commercial rights to Formula 1. .
In addition to MotoGP, Dorna Sports also controls the Superbike championship and the MotoE championship (electric motorization).
Since the American company Liberty Media took control of Formula 1 in 2017, following the CVC, it has implemented an expansion strategy, particularly in the United States, country of Nascar and IndyCar, with three races in this country in 2023 and spectacle as the main leitmotif.
Liberty Media has notably invested heavily in the return of F1 to Las Vegas, with a first GP in 2023 which required months of work and affected traffic on the famous Strip of the gaming city.
© 2024 AFP
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