Formula 1 Owners Liberty Media to Acquire MotoGP Championship

• Liberty Media will acquire 86% of MotoGP.

• The championship’s management will retain a 14% equity.

• Current MotoGP CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta will remain in charge.

Liberty Media Corporation, the firm which holds the commercial rights to Formula 1, has entered into a deal to acquire the MotoGP World Championship.

It is set to bring Formula 1 and MotoGP under the same ownership for the first time.

MotoGP’s commercial arm has been controlled for over three decades by Dorna Sports, which has investment from several firms, most prominently Bridgepoint Capital and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

On Monday an agreement was reached, with the transaction representing an enterprise value of €4.2billion ($4.53 billion), and the acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.

The deal is subject to the receipt of clearances and approvals by the competition and foreign investment law authorities in the respective jurisdictions.

Liberty Media will acquire 86% of MotoGP, with the championship’s management retaining a 14% equity, and current CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta will remain in charge.

“We are thrilled to expand our portfolio of leading live sports and entertainment assets with the acquisition of MotoGP,” said Greg Maffei, Liberty Media President and CEO. “MotoGP is a global league with a loyal, enthusiastic fan base, captivating racing and a highly cash flow generative financial profile.

“Carmelo and his management team have built a great sporting spectacle that we can expand to a wider global audience. The business has significant upside, and we intend to grow the sport for MotoGP fans, teams, commercial partners and our shareholders.”

Formula 1 and MotoGP previously came close to being controlled by the same firm, but CVC Capital Partners sold its stake in the two-wheeled championship in 2006 to Bridgepoint Capital, when it opted to buy into Formula 1.

CVC Capital Partners eventually sold Formula 1’s commercial rights to Liberty Media in 2016 in a deal which ended Bernie Ecclestone’s stewardship of the championship.

Under Liberty Media Formula 1 has undergone a significant transformation.

Liberty Media capitalized on the previous ownership’s underinvestment in social media to capture a new generation of fans, targeting a younger and broader audience, with a surge in the number of female fans.

It also gave the green light to Drive to Survive, widely attributed with broadening Formula 1’s fanbase, with several other sports having striven to replicate the docuseries to a varying degree of success.

Formula 1’s revenues have risen from $1.8b billion in 2016 to $3.2 billion in 2023, facilitated by its calendar expansion, particularly in the United States, where Grands Prix have now been established in Miami and Las Vegas.

MotoGP remains significantly smaller, with Dorna reporting revenue of $521 million in 2023, and the championship has a distinctly cosy Mediterranean flair, with 16 of the 22 riders hailing from either Spain or Italy. The retirement of Valentino Rossi at the end of 2021 also removed from MotoGP the only superstar—perhaps with the exception of Marc Marquez—who transcended the sport.