Wolff Set to Divest Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought 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 increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
