Wolff Preparing to Divest Stake Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two 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 straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
