Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million 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 the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports film ever released.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
