Toto Wolff Set to Sell Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races remaining this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
