Red Bull has begun the process of acquiring a 51% stake in the Bora-Hansgrohe team.

The news of Red Bull taking control of Bora-Hansgrohe was revealed on the Cycling News forum and subsequently announced by X user @faustonef.

"Red Bull plans to expand its involvement in cycling road racing and is looking to partner with Bora-Hansgrohe. [By becoming a partner in team manager Ralf Denk's management company, Red Bull is looking to complement the team's long-term main sponsorship portfolio. The planned joint venture has been notified to the relevant antitrust authorities."

The team's management has already filed a formal agreement with the M&A authorities.

According to the Austrian Federal Competition Authority, which oversees M&A, Red Bull GmbH, the global energy drink brand, intends to "indirectly acquire a 51% controlling interest in RD pro cycling GmbH & Co KG and RD Beteiligungs GmbH."

Under Austrian law, any party affected by the Red Bull deal must make a written statement within 14 days, and the deadline for filing an application under the Austrian Cartel Law on Market Control is January 26, 2024.

The Bora-Hansgrohe team said it could not comment further "because we do not want to anticipate an ongoing review by the Austrian antitrust authorities."

The team will hold an official media day in Mallorca on Wednesday the 10th.

Bora-Hansgrohe signed Primoš Roglic from Jumbo Visma for 2024, but Denk denied that the deal was financed or invested by Red Bull.

The team eventually allowed Sian Uitdebroeks to leave after a contract dispute with the talented young Belgian, but the 2024 roster includes Alexandre Vlasov, Dani Martinez, Jai Hindley, Sam Welsford, Leonard Chemna, Bob Jungels, among others.

Red Bull taking over the German World Tour signals a change in strategy for the energy drink brand.

Red Bull owns an F1 team and a European soccer team, but has traditionally focused on sponsoring hundreds of athletes and producing multiplatform media and branded content through its own media company.

Red Bull now sponsors Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers), Blanca Vas (SD Worx), Wout van Art (Visma-Lease a Bike), and former ski mountaineer turned professional rider Bora Hansgrohe He has a personal sponsorship agreement with Anton Palzer.

While Van Aert wears his sponsor helmet year-round and can be seen on the cyclocross and road calendar, Pidcock, as a Red Bull Athlete, only wears his famous red, blue, yellow and silver cyclocross and mountain bike racing helmets.

They also developed the Red Bull Junior Brothers program with the Bora-Hansgrohe team. However, becoming the dominant owner was a major change in the team's ownership, prospects, and ambitions.