Liberty Media takes next step towards MotoGP ownership

Liberty Media has taken the next step towards its ownership of the MotoGP World Championship after filing the acquisition with the European Commission for approval.

The US company and current owners of Formula 1 announced earlier this year that it had acquired an 86% majority to buy Dorna Sports and MotoGP.

Ever since, Liberty has been going through the necessary regulatory processes to get the acquisition completed by its year-end target.

On Thursday during Liberty’s Investor Day, CEO Greg Maffei confirmed the company’s MotoGP buyout was filed with the European Commission.

He said: “Just on MotoGP for a moment; we did file this morning [Thursday] with the EC for regulatory approval and we expect to be on track to receive that by year-end.”

Maffei added: “When you look at the weekend, at MotoGP, we really have a progression of sprint events, Moto2, Moto3 and then obviously MotoGP itself.

“Those very successful feeder series are not only important for building fan engagement, but they also provide broadcasters with up to 25 hours of content that they can use over the weekend.

“This is a great business; it is a rare opportunity to acquire a global league-level asset with centralised commercial rights and diversified revenue stream and quite high profitability.

“The fanbase has been growing already before Liberty's involvement. Year to date, attendance is up about 9% on a like for like basis, and they're maintaining the record levels that they saw in 2023.”

The EC’s deadline to take a decision on Liberty’s purchase of MotoGP is 19 December.

Maffei also announced earlier this week that he will be stepping down from his role as Liberty CEO at the end of the year.

Should its acquisition be approved, Liberty will own F1 and its feeder series, MotoGP and all other Dorna properties - including World Superbikes - while sister company Liberty Global owns Formula E.

This has prompted fears from some corners over Liberty operating a monopoly in motorsport.

When CVC Capital purchased F1 in 2006 it was forced to give up its interest of MotoGP by competition regulators.

However, Liberty has been confident from the beginning that this will not be the case this time around.