Toto Wolff Preparing to Sell Stake Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.
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 Group, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, 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 since Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.