David Blitzer’s investment firm Bolt Ventures is part of a consortium committing $50 million to acquire the MotoGP team Red Bull KTM Tech3. Bolt and Main Street Advisors have partnered with IKON Capital on the transaction. Former Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner has been named chief executive officer of the team.
The investment makes Blitzer and Main Street’s founder and CEO, Paul Wachter, the first American investors to take an ownership stake in a MotoGP team since Liberty Media Corp’s €4.2 billion (about $5 billion) acquisition of the motorcycle racing league last year, Bloomberg reported. Blitzer, who also chairs Blackstone (NYSE: BX)’s tactical opportunities group, said he has been interested in MotoGP for more than a decade and began considering a team investment after Liberty Media’s purchase of the sport.
Blitzer’s existing sports portfolio includes stakes in the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Devils, while Main Street holds an ownership position in Italian football club AC Milan.