Wolff Preparing to Divest Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports film ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
