Alpine: Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney part of group taking 24% equity stake in F1 team

26th Jun 2023 | Source: BBC

Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds (centre) took over at Wrexham in 2021 and watch the side win promotion back to the Football League in 2023

Wrexham Football Club owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are part of an investor group taking a 24% equity stake in Formula 1 team Alpine.

Alpine's parent company, Renault, announced on Monday the two Hollywood actors are investing alongside Otro Capital and RedBird Capital Partners.

The 200m euros (£171m) deal values Alpine Racing, which is based in Britain, at about £706m.

Alpine are fifth in this year's F1 constructors' championship.

Reynolds and McElhenney completed their takeover at Wrexham in 2021 and the Welsh club were promoted back to the Football League after a 15-year absence when they won the National League title in April.

US investment firm RedBird is an investor in Fenway Sports Group, the owner of Premier League side Liverpool and the Boston Red Sox baseball team.

RedBird bought Italian Serie A club AC Milan in August 2022 in a 1.2bn euro deal and also has a controlling stake in French Ligue 1 side Toulouse.

Alpine chief executive Laurent Rossi said: "This association is an important step to enhance our performance at all levels."

Rossi added the investment would "boost" the F1 team's media profile, which in turn would support Alpine's "performance over the long term".