A major European Union (EU) investigation into F1 owner Liberty Media's proposed acquisition of MotoGP appears set to launch.
A month ago, amid rumors that the EU might not allow the American company to own both F1 and MotoGP, outgoing Liberty CEO Greg Maffei said he was confident that the deal would go through.
“We are making progress with the European Commission on what is the only remaining jurisdictional regulatory hurdle. We continue to hope for closure by the end of the year.”
However, Bloomberg is now reporting that the European Union is indeed planning a full investigation, as confirmed by two anonymous sources.
The deadline for the EU to decide whether to carry out an investigation is next Thursday.
When asked to comment on the latest developments, a Liberty Media spokesperson said the company continues to “work constructively” with the regulators.
They also expressed confidence that the EU “understand the dynamic nature of the market”.
The EU declined to comment.
Interestingly, however, just a few days ago Liberty Media announced the return of former F1 CEO Chase Carey to the board. Carey was replaced as F1 boss by Stefano Domenicali in 2022.
Carey is an asset for possible discussions with the EU, having managed the takeover of F1 from CVC and Bernie Ecclestone.
“Chase has been a great partner to Liberty for many years, from our investment in DirecTV in 2008 through to Liberty's acquisition of Formula 1 in 2017, with his role as CEO being instrumental in the success of the acquisition ,” explained John Malone, president of Liberty.
“Chase’s knowledge and expertise in media, entertainment, sports, business and more will be valuable to the Board as our companies launch their next chapters of growth and value creation .”
