Liberty Media has owned the commercial rights to Formula One since 2017. Liberty Media, the owner of Formula 1, is getting close to a tempting £3.5 billion deal to buy MotoGP’s parent company.
According to the Financial Times, Liberty and Dorna Sports are having exclusive discussions about a possible acquisition. However, because of EU competition laws, any agreement is probably going to be subject to regulatory review.
Possessing both Formula One and MotoGP, the world’s leading single-seater and motorcycle motorsport classes, may put you in violation of those rules. CVC Capital Partners, the previous owner of Formula One, had previously owned MotoGP until the latter was forced to be sold off in 2006.
Formula 1’s commercial rights were sold by CVC to Liberty Media for an estimated £6.5 billion. By signing a deal to purchase several motorcycle racing series, they are now attempting to reunite the two categories in light of their potential acquisition of Dorna.
Christian Horner declared that he “absolutely cannot” sign Sergio Perez’s “perfect” replacement.
In addition to MotoGP, the Madrid-based company also supports several junior classes, the Superbike World Championship, and the Moto E series. It hosts roughly 250 races a year all told.
Liberty reportedly defeated all of its competitors to emerge as the sole viable buyer. One of the parties that had negotiations was Qatar Sports Investments, which owns the French football giants Paris Saint-Germain. Another was TKO Holdings, which is in charge of the UFC and WWE fighting sports titles.
However, James Killick, a competition attorney, told the Financial Times that he would be “extremely surprised” if authorities did not rigorously examine any agreement reached for Liberty to buy Dorna. “Is there a difference in the market now that CVC owns both championships?” he inquired.
Although F1 was losing money before Liberty purchased the commercial rights, it has now grown into a major player in the financial world. The success of the Netflix Drive to Survive series has contributed significantly to the sport’s increased global appeal; it currently has an estimated one billion admirers globally.
Due to the growing popularity of the series, Formula One is now able to demand significantly higher costs for broadcast rights and race organizer fees, which are paid annually for the right to hold an event. These revenue streams are important sources of money, along with sponsorship and merchandise sales.
While using a similar business strategy, MotoGP hasn’t been as successful as other racing series. Its own docu-drama series, MotoGP Unlimited, hasn’t drawn in as many new viewers as it would have liked—it streams on Amazon Prime Video.
