Wolff Set to Sell Shareholding Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement 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."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth 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 F1 movie featuring 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 film ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
