Wolff Preparing to Divest Shareholding Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Present Standings
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
