American billionaire joins race to buy Alpine F1 team stake

Steve Cohen, owner of the New York Mets, is racing to buy a 24 percent stake in Alpine F1 in a move that could transform F1’s financial and commercial landscape.

PlanetF1.com can exclusively reveal that the owner of the New York Mets baseball team is one of at least three parties to submit an offer to acquire Otro Capital’s 24 percent stake in the Enstone organisation.

American billionaire Steve Cohen races to buy 24 percent stake in Alpine F1

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Cohen is a self-made billionaire with a personal net worth of over $23 billion.

He founded SAC Capital Advisors and later Point72 Asset Management before acquiring the Mets in 2020 for $2.4 billion.

Cohen has invested heavily in payroll and talent as the Mets accrued one of the largest payrolls in Major League Baseball.

As such, he attracts significant media interest in the United States, not to mention potential sponsorship clout and commercial leverage.

That has the potential to not only bolster Alpine’s visibility but has positive knock-ons for the sport as a whole.

That willingness to invest and desire to quickly develop a team gels with what Renault is looking for.

It’s believed he has submitted an offer of over $600 million for Otro’s minority holding.

Otro Capital holds 24 percent of the Alpine F1 team, having acquired just under a quarter of the organisation for $218 million in December 2023.

With a roster of high-profile investors, including the likes of Ryan Reynolds and Michael B Jordan, the initial intent was to leverage those relationships to raise the profile of Renault’s F1 effort, and open commercial opportunities.

That has not happened, and instead frustration has mounted such that Renault is now forcing Otro to sell its stake early.

PlanetF1.com revealed earlier this year that company documents show Otro can only choose to sell its slice in the team after September this year.

However, sources have revealed that Renault retained the right to force a sale at any point, and must approve any new owner.

Cohen is not the only interested party, with Briatore revealing earlier this month that Mercedes-Benz AG had submitted an offer to acquire the stake.

Multiple sources have indicated that bid values the team in the region of $2.3 billion.

In addition to the financial consideration, it’s been suggested potential ‘synergies’ and efficiencies between Alpine and the Mercedes factory team were raised.

The offer itself raised eyebrows due to the potential conflicts of interest amid concerns of common ownership.

There are further questions regarding the brand dilution for Alpine, and how that synergistic relationship would correlate with F1’s financial regulations.

At a figure of $552 million, subject to finance, multiple sources with knowledge of the deal have suggested it’s the lowest of the three offers that have been submitted.

The other interested party is a consortium that includes Christian Horner and MSP Capital Partners – a former minority shareholder in McLaren until recently.

Horner has long been linked with Alpine due to his desire to own a stake in any organisation he returns to the F1 paddock with.

MSP Capital invested $247 million in McLaren in 2020 before exiting its position in 2025 for $1.6 billion.

Otro’s initial investment valued Alpine at $900 million, with more recent valuations suggesting the Enstone operation is worth in the region of $2.5 billion.

That 24 percent equates to around $600 million which could see Otro’s exit with well over $400 million in profit.

At Alpine, there have been significant personnel changes in recent years, not to mention a philosophical switch from factory engines to a customer supply from Mercedes.

While Briatore ostensibly runs the organisation, Steve Nielsen was appointed as Managing Director late last year.

Nielsen’s appointment came after a turbulent run of team bosses for the organisation and has been a steadying influence since his arrival last September.

Renault Group has insisted that, despite the team having underperformed in recent seasons, that it is fully committed to F1.

As it does so, it is seeking a minority partner who can help drive the team forward – not a passive investor as Otro has been.

The strong valuation growth of F1 teams in recent years, coupled with the potential offered at what could be considered an undervalued Alpine organisation, has sparked strong and serious interest.

Despite strong and serious interest from three known parties, Otro’s divestment is complex given the vested interests and options involved on both sides of the ledger.

However, that major players such as Cohen are being not only linked to F1 but are actively looking to enter the paddock, it’s a significant step for the sport as a whole.

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