Brussels has approved without conditions the acquisition of SL by Liberty Media after more than a year of study and analysis of the agreement by the antimonopoly authorities of the European Union. The Commission announced on Monday the final decision that allows the American multinational, also owner of Formula 1, to take 84% of the Spanish promoter in charge of organizing the MotoGP World Cup since the early nineties. The company headed by Carmelo Ezpeleta, which will continue to command operations for an indefinite time, will maintain 16% of the shareholders.
The acquisition of the championship, which was announced in April 2024, ran into surprise with the EU investigation as of December and kept the top responsible for the contest and much of its workers until a few months ago, when a filtration has already advanced the result of the investigations. Even so, definitive official communication has also taken longer than expected. “The commission has concluded that the proposed acquisition will not raise competition problems in the European Economic Space and has authorized it unconditionally,” said the European agency through a press release.
The entity has not found reasons to sanction the operation despite the concern about the potential interest conflict in terms of concessions of licenses for the broadcasting rights of sports content that the investigation unleashed. The purchase by Liberty, which will disburse 4,200 million euros to take control of the contest, represents a new chapter in the history of the World Motorcycle World Cup, and the intention of the new owners and the team led by, is to squeeze the entire potential of one of the most growing sports in the world. The main objective is not to improve the sports show, but to attract new audiences and land in new markets, with an eye especially on the American continent.
“We are delighted to start Liberty’s association with Carmelo and its excellent steering team. MotoGP is a very attractive sport with incredible careers, a passionate fans and a strong financial profile. We believe that sport and brand have a significant growth potential, something we are going to seek Average, after approval of the agreement. “We are delighted with the approval by the European Commission. It is an important milestone that confirms the even brighter future that awaits MotoGP,” said Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports.
It has a broad business porpholio with legs in the world of entertainment, sport and the media, with participations in the ticket and promoter of Live Nation musical events, in addition to Formula 1 and Quint, a hospitality business based on ‘Premium’ experiences.
