Outgoing president Greg Maffei confirmed Liberty Media filed with the European Commission on Thursday morning to gain regulatory approval for the takeover of MotoGP.
With Formula 1 already in its portfolio, Liberty earlier this year set about a purchase of MotoGP and it was confirmed last week that the deal could be completed by the end of the year.
Liberty announced in August that it was selling a $825million stake in F1 to fund the purchase of the motorcycling championship and has now said last week during its quarterly results that it has “secured all funding for [the] MotoGP transaction”.
That left the need for the takeover to be cleared by the European Commission as the only real stumbling block to overcome, given criticism from some areas of Liberty creating a monopoly by owning both F1 and MotoGP.
Speaking at Liberty’s Investor Day, just 24 hours removed from the announcement he would be leaving his role as president and CEO of the company when his contract expires at the end of the year, Maffei confirmed an application has now been lodged with the commission.
“Just on MotoGP for a moment we did file this morning with the EC for regulatory approval and we expect to be on track to receive that by year-end,” he said.
Greg Maffei, CEO, Liberty Media Corporation
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Later in his speech, Maffei turned back to MotoGP and explained the reasoning behind its attraction to Liberty investment.
“Let me turn briefly to what I hope will be our newest motorsport action in MotoGP – it is a great sport, truly compelling,” he added.
“Over 60-degree lean angles on the bikes, more than 220 miles an hour speed – these riders are crazy. There are an enormous number of overtakes, almost too many to count, and these are action-packed, 45-minute races. Which is well-suited for a younger audience, which this has.
“When you look at the weekend, at MotoGP, we really have a progression of sprint events, Moto2, Moto3 and then obviously MotoGP itself. Those very successful feeder series are not only important for building fan engagement, but they also provide broadcasters with up to 25 hours of content that they can use over the weekend.
“This is a great business; it is a rare opportunity to acquire a global league-level asset with centralised commercial rights and diversified revenue stream and quite high profitability.
“The fanbase has been growing already before Liberty’s…
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