According to a news from Bloomberg News The European Union is currently examining the acquisition of MotoGP's parent company Dorna Sports by Liberty Medium for an amount of 3,5 billion euros (approximately 3,67 billion dollars).
The deal, announced earlier this year, values Dorna at €4,2 billion, taking into account the 14% stake that will remain in the hands of Dorna management. The European authorities, led since December 1, 2024 by Teresa Ribera on competition issues, fear that this merger could limit competition in the areas of television broadcasting and streaming platforms.
A full phase 2 investigation could therefore be launched before the current deadline of 19 December., although that decision is still being worked out and could change, according to people familiar with the EU investigation who spoke on condition of anonymity. The potential merger between the two major motorsport disciplines therefore continues to raise questions about its economic and sporting impacts, as well as the media landscape of the sector.
Liberty Media, which has owned Formula 1 since 2016 after a $4,4 billion acquisition from CVC Capital Partners, recently restructured its assets to focus more on motorsports. The strategy is part of the chairman's new approach John malone, who diversified the company's activities into media, communications and entertainment, but has just reinstated the former F1 boss until 2020, Chase Carey, to the board of directors in order to attend Stefano domenicali, the current CEO of the championship.
This appointment follows the ouster of Greg Maffei last month, following a disagreement between the owner John malone and the manager Greg maffei, mainly on the subject of welcoming the Andretti team to the F1 starting grid.
EU in-depth investigations typically add around 90 working days to the initial date, but may last longer, which would push back the final decision until the 2025 MotoGP season is well underway.
We can see that we will know more next week, but the sands remain quite shifting in this context...
