Wolff Preparing to Sell Shareholding Pricing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
