Wolff Set to Divest Stake Pricing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values 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 Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in two 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.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
