Wolff Preparing to Sell Shareholding Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal 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 in September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
