Liberty Media, the owner of Formula 1’s commercial rights since 2017, has set its sights on acquiring the sport’s two-wheeled equivalent, MotoGP.
Recently, we have been reporting that F1 and MotoGP are open to the idea of staging a joint round of both world championships.
That speculation has now stepped up a gear, with Spanish business newspaper Expansion claiming Liberty Media is in negotiations with Bridgepoint - the current owner of the MotoGP organisation Dorna Sports.
Bridgepoint, who are not actively trying to sell Dorna, values its MotoGP property at $4 billion. Expansion claims that Liberty’s interest in Dorna has also sparked the curiosity of other giants like Amazon, Netflix and Disney, as well as venture capital funds CVC and KKR.
MotoGP supremo Carmelo Ezpeleta had already confirmed the sale rumours last December, telling La Repubblica: "The signs are always there.
"I confirm the rumours, but I would like to know who spreads them. Also because every day I receive two or three calls from credit institutions, asking me if it is true that we are for sale.
"The banks don’t want to buy - they offer themselves as intermediaries," he explained.