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Alpine team principal Flavio Briatore has confirmed that there are “three or four” serious buyers, including Mercedes, for a stake in the Formula 1 team.
The team, which is owned by Renault Group, could see a significant minority stake controlled by Otro Capital offloaded.
Christian Horner, former team principal of Red Bull Racing, has reportedly worked with former McLaren investors MSP Sport Capital on a bid for the 24 per cent stake up for grabs, while Mercedes have explored the acquisition to create a sister team on the 11-team grid.
One reported bid, which has since been pushed to the periphery of discussions, would have seen Briatore and Horner team up with former Formula 1 tycoon Bernie Ecclestone to co-own the French team.
Speaking on Friday, the team’s principal Briatore confirmed interest from Mercedes, and added that there are up to four serious bids for the stake.
“Every day is a new situation,” Briatore said. “What I want to say, I know it’s a negotiation from Mercedes, not with Toto [Wolff, Mercedes co-owner].
“In this moment we have three or four potential buyers.”
Renault will reportedly have first refusal over acquiring the shares outright.
Alpine bidders ready themselves
A consortium led by Otro Capital, alongside the likes of Maximum Effort Investments and Liverpool investors RedBird Capital Partners purchased a quarter of the team at a valuation of around £850m.
The stake, valued at around £173m at the time, saw stars including Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and former world heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua become co-owners in one of Formula 1’s lucrative teams.
Offloading the Otro Capital stake could see the billion-pound valuation barrier broken for Alpine.
It comes after stake sales in McLaren valued the constructors’ champions at over £4bn, while a minority sale of Wolff’s 33 per cent stake in Mercedes placed a multi-billion dollar valuation on the Silver Arrows.
Aston Martin, too, have had a recent valuation into the billions, while the base price of entering Formula 1 continues to rise.
