Wolff Preparing to Divest Stake Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6bn
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Increase
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630m (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.