Liberty Media’s takeover of MotoGP has been approved by the European Union’s monopolies commission, meaning that for the first time ever, both the series and F1 will now be owned by the same group.
The deal was first proposed in April 2024, but with the possibility for the formation of monopolistic pricing across the two series, the commissioner took a close look at the deal.
Initially the application was paused in favour of an extended fact-finding process that has taken nearly a year to complete, but now Liberty is clear to purchase an 84% stake from current owners Bridgepoint Group and the championships’ bosses, the Ezpeleta family.
"Today’s approval from the European Commission marks the final condition to closing Liberty’s acquisition of MotoGP," said Derek Chang, Liberty Media President and CEO.
"We are thrilled to officially commence Liberty’s partnership with Carmelo [Ezpeleta] and his excellent management team.
"MotoGP is a highly attractive premium sports asset with incredible racing, a passionate fanbase and a strong cash flow profile. We believe the sport and brand have significant growth potential, which we will look to realise through deepening the connection with the core fan base and expanding to a wider global audience."
The deal also includes the acquisition of production bike racing series World Superbikes, which first came under the Dorna umbrella in 2012. Splitting the two series was initially anticipated to be one of the conditions of Liberty merging F1 and MotoGP under the same roof, but the split hasn't come to fruition.
The first change to take place will be the addition of some new names to MotoGP’s governing board, with Chase Carey, director of Liberty Media and former CEO of Formula 1, and Sean Bratches, former Managing Director of Commercial Operations at Formula 1, the most notable appointees.
They will - for now at least - join Ezpeleta and Enrique Aldama, the Chief Operating and Financial Officer of Dorna, on Dorna’s board of directors, which is responsible for oversight of the business and its strategic direction.
However, beyond that, it remains to be seen what direction the new owners take the business and who else might be replaced as part of their likely changes when the deal goes through on July 3 or before.
Multiple names have been linked to Ezpeleta’s role, including current Aprilia Racing boss Massimo Rivola. That would replicate Liberty’s transformation of F1 under the stewardship of Stefano Domenicali, a man who - like Rivola -previously held a senior management role at Ferrari’s F1 team.
The most substantial area in which Liberty seems likely to heavily invest is on the marketing side, though. Undersold globally under the management of the Ezpeleta families and seen as something of a bargain when acquired by Liberty for some €3.5 billion, the likely immediate change should be an aggressive revamping of the way in which the championship engages and attracts fans.
In F1, that was primarily achieved by Liberty through the success of behind-the-scenes documentary series Drive to Survive on Netflix, a move that’s likely to be replicated in MotoGP sooner rather than later.
There has already been some whispers in the paddock about changes to key staff, something that’s likely to be expanded upon at this weekend’s Dutch TT at Assen.