Toto Wolff Set to Sell Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who holds 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 boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
