Toto Wolff Set to Divest Shareholding Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star 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 most successful sports movie to date.
Present Standings
Mercedes are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
