Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney, and Michael B. Jordan have acquired a 24% stock position in the Formula 1 team, Alpine F1. The stake would be obtained through the Reynolds-led Maximum Effort Investments. These huge names from Hollywood are investing in Alpine along with RedBird Capital and Otro Capital.
The €200 million (£171 million) agreement will value the British-based Alpine at almost £700 million after the investment.
BREAKING: Hollywood actor Ryan Reynolds is part of an investor group taking a 24% equity stake in Alpine #F1 pic.twitter.com/0K2867UBOg
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Reynolds and McElhenney had also acquired control of Wrexham AFC and paid for its admission into the English Football League (EFL) after the oldest club in Wales and the third-oldest professional association football team in the world won the National League in April 2020. Moreover, their well-liked docuseries ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ has become a sensation in North America, catapulting the relatively obscure club into the public eye.
Furthermore, the co-founder and partner of Otro Capital, Alec Scheiner, will be appointed a member of Alpine’s board of directors. The Huntsman Family and Main Street Advisors contributed to Otro and RedBird’s investment, according to Renault.
RedBird Capital, led by former Goldman Sachs banker Gerry Cardinale, is a shareholder in Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Premier League club Liverpool FC and the Major League Baseball (MLB) team, Boston Red Sox.
Additionally, RedBird owns a majority ownership in the Ligue 2 outfit, Toulouse FC. Last August, RedBird acquired the Italian club AC Milan for €1.2 billion in a deal that also included the New York Yankees‘ owners.
With a manufacturing facility in Enstone, Alpine claimed the Formula 1 constructors’ championship in 2005 and 2006 while competing as Renault’s works team and as Benetton in 1995.
According to Renault, Alpine Racing SAS, a French company that manufactures the team’s power units at Viry-Chtillon, would continue to be wholly owned by the automaker.
Alpine, CEO Laurent Rossi, said, “This association is an important step to enhance our performance at all levels. Otro Capital, RedBird Capital Partners and Maximum Effort Investments, as international players with strong track record in the sports industry, will bring their recognised expertise to boost our media and marketing strategy, essential to support our sporting performance over the long term.
“The incremental revenue generated will in turn be reinvested in the team, in order to further accelerate our Mountain Climber plan, aimed at catching up with top teams in terms of state-of-the-art facilities and equipment. ‘Mountain Climber’ is a plan to be fighting for championships within the space of 100 races, starting in 2022.”