Wolff Preparing to Divest Stake Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
