Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Stake Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.