Latham Advises on Completed Dorna Sports Sale With Milestone European Commission Phase II Unconditional Clearance

Latham & Watkins has advised Bridgepoint and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) on the completed sale of their respective controlling shareholdings in Dorna Sports to Liberty Media for €4.2 billion. The milestone acquisition received rare unconditional merger control clearance at Phase II from the European Commission.

The European Commission's approval followed a comprehensive review process, after its decision to launch an in-depth investigation. The decision — a rare unconditional approval at Phase II — sets an important precedent for how the Commission will assess future sports media rights cases.

Dorna is the exclusive commercial rights holder of the MotoGP™ World Championship. Following transaction close, Liberty Media’s Formula One Group is composed of its subsidiaries Formula 1, MotoGP, and Quint, and other minority investments.

Latham’s corporate team was led by London corporate partner David Walker, with associates Michael Houlder and Timi Afolami.

Latham’s Antitrust & Competition team was led by London/Brussels partner David Little and Madrid partner José María Jiménez-Laiglesia, with associates Oscar Hayward, Nayantara Ravichandran, Sarah Miller, Anne-Claire Théry, and Pablo Luongkhan-Garcia.