Wolff Preparing to Divest Shareholding Pricing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
