Wolff Set to Divest Stake Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer 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.
An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, 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 value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports film to date.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
