2024-04-02 16:27:55
Liberty Media, the American company that owns the rights to Formula One, announced on Monday that it has acquired Dorna Sports, which owns the rights to the MotoGP World Motorcycle Championship, and is headquartered in Madrid.
Liberty Media will acquire, in cash and shares, 86% of Dorna Sports, with company officials retaining control over the remaining shares, for an amount estimating the company’s value at 4.2 billion euros ($4.53 billion), including debt.
Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei said in a statement: “We are very pleased to expand our portfolio in the sports and entertainment sector through the acquisition of the MotoGP Championship,” adding, “It is a company under development, and we want to make it grow even more for MotoGP fans.” The teams, their business partners and our shareholders.”
Dorna Sports, whose Chairman of the Board of Directors, Carmelo Espeleta, will remain in his position, as Liberty Media announced, was previously controlled by the Bridgepoint Fund and the Canadian Retirement System Investment Fund.
“This is an ideal step in the evolution of MotoGP, and we are excited about what this new deal will bring to our role, the MotoGP teams and fans of the mechanical sport,” Espeletta said in the same statement.
Liberty Media explained that it hopes to complete the deal by the end of 2024.
Liberty will not be the first company to acquire the rights to the Formula One and MotoGP world championships, as CVC Capital Partners previously managed the two championships, until it was forced to sell MotoGP in 2006 in order to buy the Formula One rights, after Concerns have been raised by the European Union competition watchdog.
Since Liberty paid $7 billion to buy the rights to Formula One in 2017 from CVC, mechanical sports have achieved a major renaissance at the public level, and the company’s CEO, Mavi, indicated that its market value has risen to nearly $20 billion.
In addition to MotoGP, Dorna also owns the rights to the Superbike Championship and the Moto E electric bike series.
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2024-04-02 16:27:55