Bridgepoint Hires Advisers To Prepare For Sale Of MotoGP

MotoGP owner Bridgepoint is weighing a sale.GETTY IMAGES

Bridgepoint, the private equity owner of MotoGP, hired advisers to "prepare the company" that owns the int'l motorcycle racing series for a sale, according to Massoudi, Espinoza & Ahmed of the FINANCIAL TIMES. The London-based buyout group enlisted bankers at Lazard to conduct a review of Dorna, the Spanish holding company behind MotoGP and the Superbike World Championship, "in anticipation of a sale next year," according to sources. A sale would come more than a decade since Bridgepoint acquired the asset, "which has already paid out hundreds of millions in dividends." It was previously reported that CVC is "interested in re-acquiring the business," which it sold to Bridgepoint in '06 for about €500M. The sale was part of a condition to CVC's acquisition of Formula 1. Any sale of Dorna may value the Madrid-based sports company at well over €1B ($1.15B) including debt (FT, 11/19).