Toto Wolff Set to Divest Shareholding Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Standings
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
