Wolff Preparing to Sell Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
