Ryan Reynolds joins Wrexham co-owner and RedBird in buying stake in F1 team Alpine
Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds and RedBird Capital Partners, which has a stake in Liverpool’s owners, have invested in Formula 1 team Alpine.
Otro Capital, Reynolds’ Wrexham AFC co-owner Rob McElhenney and their fellow actor Michael B Jordan, who owns a stake in AFC Bournemouth have also invested.
The €200m (£171m) cash injection is for 24 per cent of Alpine Racing and values the French team, which is part of the Renault Group, at around €900m (£770m).
“This partnership will accelerate Alpine F1 development by diversifying revenue drivers and increasing brand value,” said Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo.
Alpine said the new investors would boost the brand’s media and marketing strategy, in turn helping them challenge F1’s top teams such as Red Bull and Mercedes.
Reynolds and McElhenney have leveraged their stardom to make Wrexham a global brand through docuseries Welcome to Wrexham.
The Welsh club won promotion back to the English Football League in May and have just signed a high-profile sponsorship deal with United Airlines.
RedBird Capital Partners, fronted by former Goldman Sachs banker Gerry Cardinale, manages more than $8bn (£6.3bn) of assets, many of which are in sport, media and entertainment.
It owns Italian football club AC Milan and French side Toulouse, and has a minority stake in Fenway Sports Group, which owns Liverpool FC and baseball’s Boston Red Sox.
Alpine, who boast drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, finished fourth in last season’s F1 constructors’ standings and currently sit fifth in this year’s championship.
“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 [including Reynolds, McElhenney and Jordan], as international players with strong track record in the sports industry, will bring their recognized 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 hope to break even by 2026 and grow revenue to €8bn by 2030.