Wolff Preparing to Divest Stake Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – following McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
