Toto Wolff Preparing to Sell Shareholding Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie to date.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
