EU to decide on F1 owner Liberty Media’s MotoGP deal by Dec. 19

BRUSSELS : Formula One’s U.S.-based owner Liberty Media’s planned takeover of MotoGP’s parent company Dorna will be decided by EU antitrust regulators by Dec. 19, a European Commission filing showed.
Liberty Media said in April that it would acquire about 86 per cent of Dorna, with Dorna management retaining around 14 per cent of its equity, giving the deal an enterprise value of 4.2 billion euros ($4.45 billion) for Dorna/MotoGP and an equity value of 3.5 billion euros.
The EU executive, which acts as the competition enforcer for the 27-country bloc, can approve the deal with or without conditions after its preliminary assessment or it can open a four-month long investigation if it has serious concerns.
CVC Capital Partners divested Dorna in 2006 in return for EU antitrust clearance to buy the holding company of the Formula One group of companies. It then sold Formula One to Liberty in 2017.
Liberty Media has said it is confident of getting regulatory approval and that the situation is different from 2006.
Dorna Sports, which was roughly 40 per cent owned by British private investment company Bridgepoint Group, promotes the World Superbike Championship and all-electric MotoE as well as Moto2 and Moto3 junior categories.
The deal also requires antitrust clearance in the UK, Brazil and Australia, and Foreign Direct Investment filings in Spain and Italy.
($1 = 0.9443 euros)