Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney took over Wrexham in 2020, spearheaded the club’s promotion back to the Football League in April; The investment sees Alpine valued at around £700m; The Alpine “Mountain Climber” plan is to challenge for championships within 100 races
Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are joining a group of investors, taking a 24 percent stake in Alpine Racing.
The Formula One team’s parent company Renault announced the move on Monday, with the €200m (£171m) deal valuing Britain-based Alpine at around £700m after the investment.
Alec Scheiner, co-founder and partner of Otro Capital, will join Alpine’s board of directors.
Deadpool star Reynolds leads the cap investment with McElhenny of the US comedy series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and fellow actor Michael B. Jordan as co-investors.
Reynolds and McElhenny took over Wrexham in November 2020, financing the Welsh football club’s return to the English Football League after winning the National League in April.
Their popular documentary series ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ proved to be a huge hit in North America, catapulting the little-known club into the limelight.
Wrexham co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny joined players and staff as they celebrated their promotion back to the EFL after a 15-year absence
Renault said Otro and RedBird’s investment includes participation from the Huntsman Family and Main Street Advisors.
American investment firm RedBird, run by former Goldman Sachs banker Gerry Cardinale, is an investor in Fenway Sports Group, owner of Major League Soccer’s Liverpool and the Boston Red Sox baseball team.
RedBird also has a controlling stake in French soccer club Toulouse and bought Italian AC Milan last August in a €1.2bn (£1bn) deal that also included the owners of the New York Yankees baseball team.
Alpine, with a factory in Enstone, won the F1 World Constructors’ Championships in 2005 and 2006 when they competed as the Renault production team, and also as Benetton in 1995.
Alpine F1 are currently fifth in the 2023 standings after eight races
They finished fourth in the championship last year and are currently fifth after eight races of the 2023 season.
Renault said Alpine Racing SAS, the French company that builds the team’s powertrains at Viry-Chtillon, will remain wholly owned by the automaker.
“This association is an important step to improve our performance at all levels,” said Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi.
“Otro Capital, RedBird Capital Partners and Maximum Effort Investments, as international players with significant experience in the sports industry, will bring their recognized expertise to improve our media and marketing strategy, essential to sustain our sports performance in the long term.”
“The additional revenue generated will in turn be reinvested in the team to further accelerate our Mountain Climber plan aimed at catching up with the top teams in terms of state-of-the-art facilities and equipment.”
“Mountain Climber” is a plan to fight for championships within 100 events starting in 2022.