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- 24% stake values Alpine at around US$900m
- Otro Capital and RedBird Capital Partners also invest
- Actor and Bournemouth part-owner Michael B Jordan involved
Renault Group has agreed a €200 million (US$217.8 million) deal to sell 24 per cent of its Alpine Formula One team to a group of investors including Wrexham co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
The Hollywood actors have invested through Reynolds’ Maximum Effort Investments company, with additional capital provided by Otro Capital and Gerry Cardinale's RedBird Capital Partners. Actor Michael B Jordan, who is a part-owner of English soccer team Bournemouth, is also an investor.
The 24 per cent stake values the Alpine team at around US$900 million and confirms a Bloomberg report from last week that RedBird was involved in talks to purchase a minority stake.
As part of the agreement, Alec Scheiner, co-founder and partner of Otro Capital, will join the Formula One team’s board of directors.
Renault said in a statement that the ‘collective expertise and track record’ of the investor group will support Alpine’s ‘growth strategy and sporting ambitions in Formula One’.
“Formula One and Alpine are strategic assets for Renault Group,” said Luca de Meo, chief executive of Renault Group.
“Over the past two years, we have re-ignited Alpine, capitalising on its iconic A110 sports coupé, boosting it by entering Formula One, where it aims to become a championship contender. This partnership will accelerate Alpine F1 development by diversifying revenue drivers and increasing brand value.”
James Toney, co-founder of Maximum Effort Investments alongside Reynolds, added: “Maximum Effort Investments focuses on unlocking value through the power of storytelling, and we believe there is tremendous untapped potential in Alpine Racing. We are eager to help shine a light on this incredible team.
“We’re thankful to our partners at Otro Capital and RedBird Capital Partners and look forward to diving in with them, as well as our co-investors Michael B Jordan and Rob McElhenney.”
Reynolds and McElhenney have transformed the fortunes of Wrexham since taking over at the Welsh soccer club, which last season secured promotion back to the English Football League (EFL) for the first time in 15 years.
RedBird, meanwhile, owns Italian soccer giants AC Milan and also has a stake in the Rajasthan Royals Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket team.