Wolff Set to Divest Stake Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
