Wolff Preparing to Sell Shareholding Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its stake for £208m 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 Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports film ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
