Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes 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 governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.