Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Shareholding Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
