MotoGP CEO Expects Liberty Media Takeover to go Ahead
Despite an investigation by the European Commission, Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpelate is confident Liberty Media will be successful in acquiring an 86 per cent ownership of MotoGP
The CEO of MotoGP, Carmelo Ezpeleta, has spoken out about the ongoing purchase of a large stake in the championship by F1 rights holder, Liberty Media.
Last month Liberty Media’s expected takeover of MotoGP, which was due to be completed before the end of the year, has instead rolled into 2025 as the European Commission has begun a Phase II investigation.
It means that the deal, which is expected to be worth $4.2 billion, is being looked into because the EU commission fears that the buyout could mean a higher price for viewers in smaller markets, and with Liberty Media already owning Formula One, it could monopolise the biggest two and four-wheeled championships.
“The transaction raises serious competition concerns in potential narrow national markets for the licensing of broadcasting rights for motorsports content in the European Economic Area (‘EEA'), where Formula One is the clear market leader in all European countries and MotoGP is most often its only competitor,” said the statement from the European Commission last month, and it has until 14 May to make a decision on whether the takeover will be approved or not.
But Dorna Sports CEO, Carmelo Ezpeleta, believes it will go ahead and remains ‘excited’ at the prospect of the global series being handed over to the American firm. Which is understandable when you are the person sitting on such a huge financial deal.
Ezpeleta said: "We expect this acquisition to gain the requisite EU approval and are excited by the potential opportunity to work with Liberty Media. In the meantime, we remain committed to our strategy to take the sport to new heights and continue our impressive rate of growth, further expanding our global fanbase of over 500 million.
“2024 saw season attendance of more than 3 million fans for the first time ever, and six tracks set new all-time records for their events. Our French GP broke the all-time attendance record. Looking ahead, we don’t just want more of the same, we want even more – and we are proud that our strategy is already beginning to deliver it. We hope fans are just excited as we are about the future and the incredible new season that is just around the corner."
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After graduating with a sports journalism degree, Robert joined Crash.net to lead the WorldSBK coverage in 2021, while also providing MotoGP coverage. Fulfilling that role for over three years, Robert was able to put his knowledge about all things racing to the test.
