Liberty Media has announced that they will sell an $825 million stake in Formula 1 to help finance its acquisition of MotoGP.

In April 2024, Liberty revealed plans to purchase 86% of Dorna Sports, a Spanish company that has owned MotoGP since 1992. The deal, valued at $4.2 billion, which leaves the remaining stake with MotoGP’s management.

Liberty is now set to sell over 10 million shares of its Series C Liberty Formula One Common Stock, starting at $77.50 per share, to generate the necessary funds to finalize the Dorna Sports acquisition. Part of the proceeds will also be allocated for general corporate purposes, including debt repayment.

On Thursday, August 22, Liberty confirmed the share sale with the following statement: “Liberty Media Corporation announced today that it has priced the previously announced public offering of 10,650,000 shares of its Series C Liberty Formula One Common Stock (‘FWONK’) at a public offering price of $77.50 per share. Liberty Media also granted the underwriter of the offering an option to purchase up to an additional 1,597,500 FWONK shares.

“The offering is expected to close on August 22, 2024, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, and is expected to result in approximately $825,375,000 in gross proceeds to Liberty Media, before deducting the underwriter’s discounts and estimated offering expenses payable by Liberty Media. Liberty Media intends to exercise its option to deliver additional cash in lieu of shares of FWONK as part of its previously disclosed proposed acquisition (the ‘Acquisition’) of Dorna Sports, S.L., so that all the consideration paid will be in cash, with no shares of FWONK issued to the sellers.”

The finalization of the Dorna deal took much longer than expected, as both parties had agreed on terms a long time ago and originally aimed to announce the acquisition before the start of the 2024 MotoGP season in March.

Liberty finally secured the deal despite competition from Qatar Sports Investments and TKO, the owners of Ultimate Fighting Championship and World Wrestling Entertainment.

When the deal was first announced, Liberty Media President and CEO Greg Maffei said: “We are thrilled to expand our portfolio of leading live sports and entertainment assets with the acquisition of MotoGP. MotoGP is a global league with a passionate, loyal fan base, thrilling racing, and a strong financial profile. Carmelo [Ezpeleta, Dorna CEO] and his team have created an incredible sport that we aim to bring to an even larger global audience.

“The business has significant potential, and we intend to grow the sport for MotoGP fans, teams, commercial partners, and our shareholders.”

Since acquiring Formula 1 in 2016, Liberty Media has driven a surge in interest and revenue for the series. They hope to replicate their success with MotoGP, where Ezpeleta and his son Carlos will continue playing key roles.