Wolff Preparing to Divest Shareholding Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
