Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney took over Wrexham in 2020, oversaw the club's promotion back to Football League in April; Investment sees Alpine valued at circa £700m; Alpine's 'Mountain Climber' plan is to be fighting for championships within the space of 100 races
Tuesday 27 June 2023 08:41, UK
Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are joining an investor group taking a 24 per cent equity stake in Alpine Racing.
The Formula 1 team's parent company Renault announced the move on Monday, with the €200m (£171m) deal valuing British-based Alpine at around £700m following the investment.
Alec Scheiner, the co-founder and partner of Otro Capital, will join Alpine's board of directors.
'Deadpool' star Reynolds leads Maximum Effort Investments with McElhenney, of American comedy series 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia', and fellow-actor Michael B. Jordan as co-investors.
Reynolds and McElhenney took over Wrexham in November 2020, funding the Welsh soccer club's return to the English Football League having won the National League in April.
Their popular docu-series 'Welcome to Wrexham' has proved a big hit in North America, propelling the little-known club into the global spotlight.
Renault said Otro and RedBird's investment included the participation of the Huntsman Family and Main Street Advisors.
US investment firm RedBird, run by former Goldman Sachs banker Gerry Cardinale, is an investor in Fenway Sports Group, the owner of Premier League side Liverpool and the Boston Red Sox baseball team.
RedBird also has a controlling stake in French football club Toulouse and bought Italy's AC Milan last August in a €1.2bn (£1bn) deal that also involved the owners of the New York Yankees baseball team.
Alpine, with a factory at Enstone, won Formula 1 constructors' world championships in 2005 and 2006 when they competed as Renault's works team and also as Benetton in 1995.
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 entity that makes the team's power units in Viry-Chtillon, will remain entirely owned by the carmaker.
"This association is an important step to enhance our performance at all levels," said Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi.
"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.
