How F1 Owners Beat Their Dwayne Johnson-Led WWE Rivals in $4 Billion Race

Formula One and MotoGP are two of the biggest and most advanced motorsports on a global level. So far, Liberty Media had the rights over Formula One and Dorna had MotoGP under them. Both have been competitors in the motorsports field but Liberty is about to end the competition.

So far, there were reports of TKO trying to take over Dorna with Dwayne Johnson having 30% of the stocks of the company. However, Greg Maffei, Liberty Media President and CEO outbid TKO to acquire the rights for MotoGP and Dorna subsidiaries.

Liberty Media becomes the biggest Motorsport entity in the sporting world

Liberty Media took a big step and acquired 86% of Dorna. The original management will still have 14% of the shares with them. Currently, the breakdown is: MotoGP was bought for 65% cash, and 21% shares of Series C Liberty Formula One common stock.

Qatar Sports Investments, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, and TKO, the media and entertainment conglomerate, have been trying to get the rights of MotoGP to strengthen their arms in the Motorsport world. But according to Motorsport.com, Liberty Media’s takeover may be the best-case scenario as it will bring in a more organic transition due to them being from the same sub-sport.

The deal was worth around $4.3 billion which will help Liberty Media become the dominant force in the world of Motorsports. This will bring together all the fans of track racing, hoping both sports will take up each other’s best and most appealing aspects.

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The takeover will be completed after this year as there are many dues that MotoGP needs to clear. Starting in 2025, the new season of both F1 and MotoGP will be under the authority of Liberty Media, which has been going through changes recently.

Dwayne Johnson’s involvement in TKO

TKO Group Holdings is the owner of both WWE and UFC. In January 2024, Dyawne Johnson, aka The Rock, was appointed to the Board of directors for the parent company. Besides his loud former WWE persona, the wrestler has been involved with Hollywood and has started a few businesses on the way. He is now known for his business skills and received over $30 million in TKO stocks.

He also freed his trademark moniker, “The Rock” from the rights of the WWE. After taking back his name, Johnson made a statement saying, “Being on the TKO Board of Directors, and taking full ownership of my name, ‘The Rock,’ is not only unprecedented, but incredibly inspiring as my crazy life is coming full circle.” 

Further adding, “At my core, I’m a builder who builds for and serves the people, and [TKO CEO] Ari [Emanuel] is building something truly game-changing.” With the Rock being the spokesperson for TKO, the company looks like its healing the right way. The wrestler is a beloved man in the sports world and his contributions have helped WWE reach where they are right now.”

Unfortunately, TKO couldn’t bag the deal. But do you think TKO would have been better potential owners of MotoGP despite not being at the forefront of Motorsports?

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