Simpson Thacher is representing Goldman Sachs in connection with the committed debt financing for Liberty Media Corporation’s (“Liberty Media”) agreement to acquire Dorna Sports, S.L. (“Dorna”), the exclusive commercial rights holder to the MotoGP World Championship.
The transaction reflects an enterprise value of €4.2bn for Dorna and expands Liberty Media’s portfolio of leading live sports and entertainment assets. The equity consideration to the sellers is expected to be comprised of cash, shares of Series C Liberty Formula One common stock and retained management equity. MotoGP will be attributed to Liberty Media’s Formula One Group tracking stock. The acquisition is expected to be completed by year-end 2024 and is subject to the receipt of clearances and approvals by competition and foreign investment law authorities in various jurisdictions.
The Simpson Thacher team included Patrick Ryan, Jackie Song, Austin Vance and Peter Simon (Banking and Credit); Antti Pesonen, Li Lin, Jennifer Falconer Hall and Tom Lort (Banking and Credit – London); and Michael Mann and Ruoxi Zhang (Tax).