Updated posts 2026
MotoGP Acquisition: The roar of engines isn’t the only sound echoing through the halls of MotoGP these days. The sport is abuzz with the prospect of a takeover by Liberty Media, owner of Formula One. A billion-dollar deal could reshape the map of motorsport.
According to the Financial Times, Liberty Media, led by media investor John Malone, is in advanced negotiations for a €4 billion ($4.32 billion) acquisition of Dorna Sports, the company that holds the commercial rights to MotoGP. If completed, it would place two of the largest motorsport properties under one owner.
Industry figures including Yanni Andreopoulos, a veteran of Formula E, see the potential merger as a strategic move. Liberty Media would be securing a position across both two-wheeled and four-wheeled racing, with scope for shared commercial operations, broadcast arrangements and calendar planning across the two series.
Dorna Sports was not short of suitors. TKO, a sports and entertainment group, and Qatar Sports Investments, owner of Paris Saint-Germain, were also reported to be interested. Dorna Sports, headquartered in Madrid, runs MotoGP and MotoE, with roughly 250 races across 20 countries each year.
Liberty Media’s racing involvement began in 2016 when it acquired a controlling stake in Formula One. Since then it has driven F1’s commercial growth, particularly in the United States, aided by the Netflix series “Drive to Survive.” F1 operating profits rose 64% to $392 million in 2023. MotoGP has also seen growth in global audiences, especially in the Americas.
The precedent the piece notes below is the crux of the deal. Liberty’s F1 playbook — documentary access, social media, new races in commercially valuable markets — is genuinely transferable, and MotoGP has long been considered under-marketed relative to the quality of its racing. What worked once may not work identically twice, though. “Drive to Survive” arrived when F1 had no comparable content and a built-in cast of rivalries; the format has since been copied across a dozen sports with diminishing effect, and audiences have grown less responsive to it.
While the exact terms remain undisclosed, questions remain about the size of Liberty Media’s stake in Dorna. Regulatory approval is the larger uncertainty. In 2006, when CVC Capital Partners owned Dorna Sports and moved to acquire Formula One, European regulators required it to sell Dorna to avoid a monopoly in motorcycle and car racing rights. The same objection applies here, and competition authorities are likely to examine the combination closely.
Despite the regulatory questions, Liberty Media’s intent is clear. CEO Greg Maffei has spoken about MotoGP and Formula One operating together under Liberty ownership, applying the commercial approach that worked in F1 to a sport the company believes is undervalued.
As negotiations proceed, the motorsport community waits. Whether Liberty Media becomes MotoGP’s owner depends as much on Brussels as on Madrid.
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