Toto Wolff Preparing to Sell Shareholding Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Growth
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
