In October 2021, Ryan Reynolds announced on his social media that he was taking time off. The popular Canadian Hollywood actor broke the news after Apple released Spirited, a comedy starring Will Ferrell and Octavia Spencer, which was a disappointing flop with critics. Reynolds put his industry career on hold while redoubling his successful commitment as an investor and entrepreneur. For several years, the star, who is preparing the third part of Deadpool, has been associated with European football, the $600 million sale of Aviation Gin to Diageo, telecommunications and even Formula 1. All of these operations have made him one of the few movie stars with a keen business acumen.
Reynolds (Vancouver, Canada, 46 years old) recently announced that he is part of an investor group that has taken control of 24% of Alpine Racing, Renault’s Formula 1 team, now controlled by conglomerate Liberty Media. The $218 million operation was carried out jointly with private funds RedBird Capital, which has stakes in Liverpool and AC Milan, and Otro Capital. The operation comes after the team recorded their best year since 2017 in 2021. That year, the car team earned €33 million in a period that coincided with Fernando Alonso at the wheel.
Reynolds is the youngest of four children born to a saleswoman and Canadian Mounted Police officer. In its investment aspect, the celluloid star is not alone. He will be joined by friend and colleague Rob McElhenney, American actor and creator of comedy It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Michael B. Jordan, performer of Rocky spin-off Creed. The three control Maximum Effort, the production company founded in 2018 whose name was inspired by one of the irreverent Deadpool superhero’s most repeated phrases.
As part of their love of sports, both Reynolds and McElhenney have also tried their luck in the world of European football, now plagued by petrodollars. In late 2020 they bought modest Welsh club Wrexham, a team from the fifth division of the English league. They saw him as a possible Cinderella who could become a princess. And they are not wrong. If the Hollywood experience has taught them anything, it’s that audiences like nothing more than a good story about overcoming them: last April the team achieved their dream promotion and next season they will play in the English third division for the first time in 15 years.
The experience with Wrexham, a club in a town of 135,000, is one way to understand Reynolds’ philosophy. Even for the most ardent football fan it is difficult to learn the history of a team that lives far from the great clubs of the Premier League. But with the arrival of the Hollywood star, the club has become an international brand. For example, The Welsh now have a documentary series on the FX platform called Welcome to Wrexham. Their players wear United Airlines advertisements on their jerseys and have just signed HP, while their competitors advertise transport companies or small local businesses. King Charles III of England visited the club grounds in December to see the phenomenon first hand. “They are working hard to spread the name of Wrexham like never before,” the monarch said.
In an interview in April, a Bloomberg reporter asked the actor about the lessons he’s learned as an investor. “Actually, I think it’s very important to put your head on the line in the game. That means you have an emotional investment,” he replied. “I’ve said on other occasions that I’m not a financial expert, but what we do at Maximum Effort is to understand and manage these emotional investments very well,” he added. Days before the interview with the business agency, Reynolds had announced that he would be entering the fintech sector, which was new to him. He chose Nuvei, a Montreal-based digital payments company with a presence in 47 countries. The company did not disclose the amount paid by the interpreter in the operation.
With 49 million followers on Instagram alone, Reynolds knows the power of marketing well. This is one of the main strengths of his company, which is run by George Dewey, the publicity executive for the first part of Deadpool. Social media gives you direct access to consumers. From his platforms, the actor exudes the freshness and sense of humor that have made him a star for the brands he is associated with. Which facilitates the virality of the campaigns and differentiates them from other celebrities lending their image to a product.
generous capital gains
The company ran an ad in January for Mint Mobile, the low-cost cell phone provider in which it had a significant stake. Execution was easy. Reynolds faces the camera and announces that the promotional script was written by ChatGPT. All he asked the artificial intelligence was to mention his current promotion to differentiate himself from the big phone companies, record a joke and insert a swear word into the formula, one of the comedian’s trademarks. The video garnered nearly two million views on YouTube and met the actor-producer’s requirements for maximum effort: a quick responsiveness to quickly write, shoot, edit, and launch an ad on topics that are on people’s minds.
Last March, T-Mobile, one of the largest phone operators in the United States, announced its acquisition of Mint, which offered some of the cheapest plans without having a single store in the country and in which Reynolds owned a 25% stake. With a fresh style, the company has grown customers by 50% and revenue by 70% over the past four years. The transaction closed for $1,350 million, 39% in cash and 61% in stock. The actor received around 300 million for his actions. Reynolds and Mint supporters weren’t too happy about the big fish eating the small fish after several years of going against the tide. In a company release, Satan has been hired to be in charge of customer service for a major phone company. Fans were reassured when the news confirming the transaction was released. T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert thanked Reynolds and his team and announced that they will keep the popular $15-a-month plan. Reynolds then quipped, “T-Mobile has assured me that they will not mess with our incredibly spontaneous and almost reckless communication strategy.”
Follow all information from Business And Business on Facebook and Twitteror in our weekly newsletter
Five Day Agenda
The day’s major economic dates, with the keys and context to understand their scope.
RECEIVE IT BY MAIL