(Boulogne-Billancourt) After football, Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney turn their attention to Formula 1.
The Alpine team has just reached an agreement with a group including Reynolds and McElhenney on an investment of 200 million euros (287.27 million CAN). The Renault Group, parent company of Alpine, indicated on Monday that this group had thus acquired 24% of the shares of the team.
The group is made up of Otro Capital, RedBird Capital Partners and Maximum Effort Investments, led by Reynolds. Actor Michael B. Jordan is also one of the investors.
According to this transaction, the Alpine team is now valued at just over 1.18 billion.
Drivers Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocan have led Alpine to fifth in the constructors’ standings so far this season. They finished fourth last year but are struggling to close the gap to Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes this season.
Renault said the new partners have experience in the sports industry, having previously worked with the Dallas Cowboys and the NFL, Fenway Sports Group, French soccer club Toulouse and Welsh club Wrexham.
Reynolds and McElhenney bought Wrexham for almost 3.3 million in November 2020. The club found themselves under the spotlight due to the notoriety of their owners and secured promotion to the English Fourth Division this season.
Renault clarified that Alpine Racing SAS, the entity that builds F1 engines in France, is not part of the transaction and remains wholly owned by Groupe Renault.
