Liberty Media, which owns F1, is seeking to buy the MotoGP motorcycle championship, according to the Financial Times.
The possibility of Liberty Media owning the MotoGP series in addition to F1 has been discussed for several weeks. However, according to the Financial Times, the speculation could soon become reality.
Based on current reports, Liberty Media should pay around 4 billion euros (about 100 billion crowns) for MotoGP, which is co-owned by Bridgepoint and the Canadian sovereign wealth fund through Dorna Sports.
The information of the Financial Times newspaper is also confirmed by Autosport, according to which the transaction could be announced before the MotoGP Grand Prix of America in the first half of April.
However, Liberty Media’s efforts could still upset European regulators, who might have a problem with two such important motorsport series (F1 and MotoGP) having a common owner.
After all, the previous owner of F1, the investment fund CVC, also encountered this problem in the past, which in the past owned both championships and was subsequently forced by the authorities to sell one of the championships.
For the sake of completeness, let’s add that the MotoGP series operates on a similar business model to F1. This means that it generates income mainly through the sale of television rights, through so-called listing fees, which are paid by individual circuits for being part of the calendar, and income from sponsorship.
However, MotoGP’s income is significantly lower than F1’s. While F1 revenues reached $3.2 billion in 2023, in the case of MotoGP it was less than $500 million in 2022.
