Red Bull takeover of Bora-Hansgrohe confirmed by Austrian FCA

In a press release issued on Monday afternoon, German WorldTeam Bora-Hansgrohe have confirmed the acquisition of their parent company (RD pro cycling GmbH & Co KG and RD Beteiligungs GmbH) by Austrian drinks company, Red Bull.

Officially Red Bull GmbH, the well-known drinks and marketing megalith have taken a 51% controlling stake in the team, with the deal being formally ratified by the Austrian Federal Competition Authority, whose deadline for any objections to the acquisition was set as 26 January.

Per the FCA: "The Federal Competition Authority and the Federal Cartel Prosecutor have not applied for examination of the merger by the Cartel Court."

With the takeover officially approved by the authorities, Bora-Hansgrohe team boss Ralph Denk has been able to comment publicly for the first time, after having to keep his words short when the news first broke on 3 January.

Read more: Red Bull acquires controlling stake in Bora-Hansgrohe

"With today's decision, we have cleared an important hurdle," said Denk. "The foundations of our partnership with Red Bull are now officially in place. This is the green light we've been waiting for to go ahead with the formalities and many specific parts of the collaboration."

It came as a surprise to some at first when Bora-Hansgrohe began their 2024 campaign in the Tour Down Under with no reference to their new owners Red Bull. There were no Red Bull helmets on show, no Red Bull insignia on the team's kit and their latest strip does not include specific reference to the Austrian company's colours.

However, none of this was to be expected until the Austrian FCA approved the formal purchase, and Monday's decision could open the door for a more visible presence of Red Bull in the WorldTour.

Red Bull currently sponsors Bora-Hansgrohe's Anton Palzer, who has worn a blue, silver, red and yellow helmet since his days as a SkiMo athlete. Going forward, a possible scenario is for Bora-Hansgrohe to reveal a special Tour de France jersey in the summer which could certainly put Red Bull in the media limelight as Primož Roglič bids to win the hallowed yellow jersey.

Read more: Anton Palzer: If Chris Froome or Primož Roglič tried my SkiMo times, I'm sure they wouldn't survive this

The team will certainly benefit from the Red Bull Athletes Performance Centre in the meantime, and it would be no surprise to see the team's media offering improve with the support of Red Bull's award-winning Media House, with 'creation of advertising campaigns' listed as one of the economic sectors the merger falls under.

For the time being, though, Denk has quelled expectations of any great changes overnight.

"Everyone in cycling knows how important the basics and preparation are for success. So, we are now taking this step with the necessary consideration and resolution. We will present the further details of our partnership in the course of the season."

Monday's announcement further increases Red Bull's presence in road cycling. The Austrian company has long sponsored superstars such as Tom Pidcock and Wout van Aert, whilst Canyon-SRAM's Zoe Bäckstedt was added to that pool of Red Bull athletes last Friday.

We can expect to see the Red Bull Junior Brothers programme continue at a pace over the coming seasons, with the talent identification pathway supplying Bora-Hansgrohe's development team, GRENKE-Auto Eder, with two junior athletes in Anatol Friedl and Patrick Casey just a few months ago.