Wolff Preparing to Sell Shareholding Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports film to date.
Current Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
