The majority takeover of the operating company of the top German cycling team Bora-hansgrohe by the beverage company Red Bull can go ahead as planned.
As the team announced on Monday (January 29, 2024), the Austrian Federal Competition Authority has no concerns about the partnership. “Now the foundation is officially in place. This is the green light we have been waiting for to begin the formalities and many of the individual building blocks of the collaboration.”said team manager Ralph Denk.
Details of the partnership will be presented over the course of the season. The energy drink manufacturer, which is omnipresent in sports sponsorship, wants to acquire 51 percent of Denk-led RD pro cycling GmbH & Co. KG and RD Beteiligungs GmbH. According to the antitrust review of the takeover, there is nothing to contradict this.
Partnerships with drivers from rival teams
The currently best German team around drivers like Lennard Kämna, Emanuel Buchmann and newcomer Primoz Roglic confirmed the desired partnership at the beginning of January.
Red Bull, which acts as a major sponsor in Formula 1 and football, among other things, has so far operated partnerships with individual drivers in cycling.
In addition to the German Bora-hansgrohe professional Anton Palzer, these also include the top stars Wout van Aert (Belgium) and Thomas Pidcock (Great Britain). However, Van Aert drives for the big competitor Visma-Lease a Bike (previously called Jumbo-Visma), Pidcock is under contract with Ineos Grenadiers.