Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Shareholding Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
