28/06/2006
NEWS STORY
It is understood that six venture capital groups - Permira, PAI, Advent, Apax Partners, Bridgepoint and Lion Capital - are in the hunt to buy the rights to MotoGP, which is currently owned by Dorna Sports.
Dorna Sports is controlled by private equity firm CVC, which has been forced by the European Commission to sell Dorna Sports as a result of its acquisition earlier this year of SLEC, the company which manages global retransmission rights to the Formula One World Championship.
CVC, which paid an estimated £45m for a 75 percent stake in Dorna Sports in 1998, looks set to receive around £250m when the sale is concluded. The remaining 25 percent is held by Carmelo Ezpeleta, widely described as the Bernie Ecclestone of motorcycle racing.
It's understood that Dorna Sports will not sell MotoGP to the highest bidder, and is looking for potential purchasers who will take the sport forward.
In recent years MotoGP's popularity has mainly been in Italy and Spain, however, cable and satellite TV coverage, not to mention the quality of the racing, is bringing more and more fans to the sport.