Wolff Preparing to Sell Stake Pricing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.