Toto Wolff Preparing to Sell Stake Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Growth
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Present Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings 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 for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
