Wolff Set to Divest Shareholding Pricing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6 Billion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record 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 one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
