Liberty Media, headquartered in Englewood, Colorado (United States), officially completed the purchase of Formula One in early 2017 - although it was announced in September 2016 - and the acquisition was settled for the staggering sum of $4.4 billion, a figure that has almost quadrupled in value ($17.1 billion) since the group acquired the rights, according to Forbes magazine.

As well as owning the 'Grand Circus' of motorsport, Liberty Media owns other sports properties including the Atlanta Braves - an MLB team - and the Drone Racing League, among others. The company has been listed on the NASDAQ since 1991, when it was called Old Liberty and traded under the symbols LBTYA and LBTYB.

Dorna Sports, based in Madrid, Spain, currently owns the rights to the MotoGP World Championship and the Superbike Championship. It is 40% owned by the Bridgepoint Fund and 39% by the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Fund, with the remainder of the capital held by Dorna's directors.

The agreement with Liberty Media would value Dorna at around €4 billion, in addition to the settlement of its debts. The deal, which would bring together the world's two biggest motorsport competitions under one roof, has a potential annual turnover in excess of €2.5 billion.

Revenues come from circuit fees, TV rights, sponsorship and advertising, all of which could be commercialised and managed together to achieve greater efficiency and thus higher revenues".

In addition to the American group, negotiations are also underway with QSI, the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar. This fund, which would compete with the Liberty Media empire, also owns Paris Saint-Germain and the TKO Group holding, which owns the American professional wrestling league (WWE) and mixed martial arts (MMA), is also in talks to buy Dorna.