Toto Wolff Preparing to Sell Shareholding Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is engaged 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 an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal signifies a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in 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 secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
