Wolff Set to Divest Shareholding Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Current Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.