Wolff Preparing to Sell Shareholding Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
