Toto Wolff Preparing to Sell Stake Pricing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
