Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Shareholding Valuing Mercedes F1 at ยฃ4.6bn
Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at ยฃ4.6 billion โ an unprecedented figure for an F1 team โ after McLaren was appraised at ยฃ3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its stake for ยฃ208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630m (ยฃ458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
