Wolff Preparing to Divest Stake Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates 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 corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Increase
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races remaining this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.