Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Shareholding Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates 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 Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.