Toto Wolff Preparing to Sell Shareholding Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
