Otro Capital is in advanced discussions with Hard Rock Miami Grand Prix owner Stephen Ross to acquire a 20 per cent stake in the race itself, according to report from the US overnight.
The reported deal does not extend to the Miami Dolphins, Hard Rock Stadium or the wider Ross Sports & Entertainment portfolio, and no valuation has been disclosed.
Such a deal on its own would be a significant transaction for one of Formula 1’s most valuable event properties but the involvement of Otro adds another layer to the story.
The firm is already an investor in F1 through its 24 per cent stake in the BWT Alpine F1 Team, acquired in 2023 alongside RedBird Capital Partners, with Otro’s own investor base including Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Rory McIlroy and Anthony Joshua. That investment is now itself the subject of a long-running sale process.
Alpine exit nears
Otro paid $200 million for its 24 per cent Alpine holding in 2023, when the team was valued at around $900 million.
It began exploring a sale of the stake late last year, with Mercedes emerging as Renault’s preferred buyer earlier in 2026. Those discussions ultimately collapsed in May after the two sides failed to agree on valuation.
The reported price attached to the Mercedes discussions was around $720 million, a figure that would have represented a substantial increase on Otro’s original investment.
Since then, attention has shifted towards a consortium involving former Oracle Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner, who has previously been linked with a bid for the stake.
There was, however, another important development earlier this month.
A three-year restriction governing the transfer of Otro’s Alpine shares expired in September, meaning the investment firm can now sell the stake to a third party without requiring Renault’s express consent in the same way it had previously.
The date was not a sale deadline but it has removed Renault’s power of veto – a significant structural restriction around the timing of any transaction.
That means Otro’s 24 per cent Alpine holding is now in a materially different position to the one it occupied when Mercedes was negotiating for it and that brings the Miami development into focus.
From team to track
There is no suggestion that Otro has agreed to sell Alpine in order to fund a Miami investment, nor is there confirmation that the two transactions are connected.
But the timing raises an obvious question about what the firm wants its F1 exposure to look like.
Its existing investment is a minority stake in a constructor while the reported Miami transaction would give it an interest in the commercial operation of one of F1’s most successful new-generation races, a very different asset.
Alpine – which will welcome Gucci as title partner from 2027 – offers exposure to the long-term value of an F1 team, including its commercial growth, franchise value and position within the championship.
Miami offers exposure to the economics of an event that has become increasingly significant as F1 has developed its US business.
Since its debut in 2022, the Miami Grand Prix has established itself as more than a three-day sporting event.
Ross has said the race has developed into a week-long proposition across Miami and South Florida, with five consecutive sell-outs and Hard Rock confirmed as new title partner of the grand prix from next year.
That growth is precisely what makes the reported structure noteworthy.
Ross is not reportedly looking to sell the race outright but is instead considering bringing in a minority investor while retaining control of the asset.
The proposed transaction would therefore give Otro exposure to the growth of the Miami Grand Prix without requiring it to acquire the underlying sports franchise or the wider assets around Hard Rock Stadium.
Changing the portfolio
Otro’s history in F1 has been built around team ownership and its Alpine investment was one of the earliest high-profile examples of private equity entering the ownership structure of an F1 team following the sport’s rapid increase in value.
The firm has since broadened its sports portfolio considerably. Its investments now extend beyond F1, including a partnership with the University of Utah to manage revenue-generating athletics operations.
If Otro ultimately exits Alpine and acquires a stake in Miami, it would not be leaving F1, it would be changing the type of F1 asset it owns.
The Alpine investment was made at a time when the value of F1’s teams was already rising rapidly, with Otro and its partners effectively buying into the long-term appreciation of a constructor.
The Miami proposition is different, it is a bet on the value of an event, its commercial rights, hospitality, sponsorship inventory, fan experience and wider entertainment proposition.
The race also sits on one of F1’s longest-running contracts, extended to 2041 and gives any investor unusual long-term certainty over the asset.
A question of value
There is also a valuation story sitting underneath both sides of Otro’s F1 portfolio.
When Otro invested in Alpine, the team was valued at around $900 million. The team’s Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore subsequently put Alpine’s current value at around $3.2 billion in August, although that figure has not been established through a completed transaction.
The Mercedes discussions reportedly centred on a price of around $720 million for Otro’s 24 per cent holding, before those talks broke down.
The gap between those numbers illustrates one of the central issues facing F1’s private-equity market – headline team valuations have risen sharply, but agreeing a price for an individual minority stake is a different proposition.
For Otro, however, the Miami discussions potentially offer another route to deploying capital into F1 at a different point in the value chain.
The race is already an established commercial property. It has a proven audience, consecutive sellouts, a growing week-long footprint and a long-term deal to host F1.
Miami’s appeal
Ross has already demonstrated a willingness to bring outside capital into his sports assets.
In late 2024, Ares Management acquired a 10 per cent interest in the Dolphins, Hard Rock Stadium and Miami Grand Prix package, while Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai acquired a further 3 per cent.
The combined transaction valued those assets at approximately $8.1 billion.
The proposed Otro transaction would be different because, according to the reports, it would isolate the Miami Grand Prix rather than involve the wider Ross Sports & Entertainment portfolio.
That makes the race itself the asset being valued. It would also provide another data point for a question that is becoming increasingly relevant to F1’s commercial future. How much are individual Grand Prix properties worth as standalone sports and entertainment businesses?
F1 itself does not own every race promoter asset in the way it owns the championship’s commercial rights. Local promoters and investors retain significant economic exposure to individual events.
Miami has increasingly looked like one of the sport’s most sophisticated examples of that model and the reported Otro interest suggests institutional investors are taking notice.
