The boss of Formula E wants the European Commission to look into the acquisition of MotoGP by Liberty Media. Alejandro Agag told the Financial Times that, with Liberty already owning F1, the deal would give the American entity “very significant” power.
Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei openly admits that MotoGP depends on approval from regulatory authorities.
“From a competition law perspective, I think there are significant challenges ahead.” Agag said. “The leverage that this merger will give to the resulting entity in terms of negotiating with broadcasters will be significant and I believe that the European Commission will review this transaction very carefully.”
Agag specifies that he is not asking the Commission to fail the operation, but that he wishes “appropriate corrective measures to ensure market fairness”.
Interestingly, Liberty Media-linked company Liberty Global took a majority stake in Agag-founded Formula E earlier this year.
Liberty Global declined to comment on Agag’s comments. But a Formula E spokesperson denied that this was the sport’s view: “As a former politician, Alejandro has a strong personal interest in antitrust issues and was expressing his own views. We generally do not comment on potential deals.”
