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The Alpine Formula 1 team has announced a purchase by investors of a significant minority stake in the outfit.
An investment group including actors Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney and Michael B Jordan has taken up a 24% stake in the team.
The purchase values Alpine’s UK-based company – Alpine Racing Ltd (its Enstone operation) – at “around $900million”, following F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali’s recent claim that teams were rejecting buyout offers of “almost billions”.
An imminent stake sale for Alpine has been rumoured for a while, with the brand already acknowledging last year that it was seeking one.
The investors include Otro Capital, RedBird Capital Partners and Maximum Effort Investments.
“This association is an important step to enhance our performance at all levels,” said Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi.
“First, 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.
“Second, 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.”
Alpine says the Maximum Effort Investments part of the deal involves not just Reynolds but Jordan and McElhenney, described as “co-investors” by the company’s co-founder James Toney.
Reynolds is perhaps best known as the lead in 20th Century Studios franchise Deadpool, while Jordan headlines Rocky spin-off franchise Creed.
McElhenney, a star of the long-running sitcom It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, is along with Reynolds a co-chairman of Welsh football team Wrexham – which following the acquisition by the pair became subject to high-profile docuseries Welcome To Wrexham co-produced by none other than Maximum Effort. Jordan, for his part, is part of the minority ownership group for Premier League team AFC Bournemouth.
RedBird Capital is the owner of legendary Italian football outfit AC Milan. Alec Scheiner is a partner at RedBird and a co-founder of Otro Capital, and will now sit on Alpine Racing’s board of directors.
“We believe in the management of the company, the value of the brand as well as the long-term trajectory of the sport,” said Scheiner.
“We believe that, along with our partners RedBird and Maximum Effort Investments, we can add value to Alpine’s business operations and brand building, especially in North America.”
