Europe should investigate Liberty’s MotoGP deal

Oct.14 (GMM) The boss of Formula E wants the European Commission to look into Liberty Media’s acquisition of the MotoGP series.

Alejandro Agag told the Financial Times that because Liberty already owns Formula 1, the deal would give the US-based entity “very significant” power.

Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei openly admits that the MotoGP depends on regulatory approval.

“From the point of view of competition law, I think there are significant challenges,” Agag said.

“The leverage that this merger will give the resulting entity in terms of negotiating with broadcasters will be significant and I think the European Commission will look very carefully at this deal.”

Agag says he’s not calling for the Commission to scupper the deal, but he wants “proper remedies to guarantee fairness in the market”.

Interestingly, the Liberty Media-linked Liberty Global company took a controlling stake in the Agag-founded Formula E earlier this year.

Liberty Global would not comment on Agag’s comments, while a spokesman for Formula E said: “As a former politician, Alejandro has a strong personal interest in antitrust issues and was expressing his own views.

“We generally don’t comment on prospective deals.”

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