Toto Wolff Preparing to Divest Shareholding Pricing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn
Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie to date.
Current Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
