Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Shareholding Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, 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.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
