Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Shareholding Pricing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
