Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds and RedBird Capital Partners are set to invest in Renault's Alpine F1 team, valuing the business at $900 million. The investment consortium, including Otro Capital and Maximum Effort Investments, will put €200 million ($218 million) towards a 24% stake in Alpine Racing Ltd, the unit responsible for the F1 team.
This development comes as part of Renault CEO Luca de Meo's plans to expand its Alpine sports-car business and shift towards electrification. De Meo has already rebranded Renault's F1 team as Alpine and is working towards a fully electric lineup, including a city car in 2022 and a crossover model in 2025, starting with the A290. The automaker aims to reach more than €8 billion in revenue for the maker of the Alpine A110 sports coupe in 2030, including €1 billion from China.
The deal means that Alpine Racing gains access to a group of seasoned investors. RedBird, which manages $8.6 billion of capital across a range of sectors, including sports, consumer, and financial services, led the €1.2 billion takeover of AC Milan in 2020 and also owns the French soccer team Toulouse FC. Meanwhile, Alec Scheiner, co-founder and partner of Otro Capital, will join Alpine's board of directors.
For Reynolds, this investment in Alpine Racing adds to his sporting interests, having previously acquired the UK soccer club AFC Wrexham with fellow Hollywood actor Rob McElhenney earlier in 2021. The Alpine F1 team finished fourth in the standings last season, with their driver Esteban Ocon securing third place at the Monaco Grand Prix last month. However, this year's F1 championship has been a challenging start for the team, currently ranked fifth in the constructor standings, behind Red Bull Racing, Mercedes, Aston Martin, and Ferrari.
Renault will remain the 100% owner of Alpine Racing SAS, the entity responsible for manufacturing F1 engines in Viry-Châtillon, France. The deal will be completed once it receives regulatory approval.