Toto Wolff Set to Sell Shareholding Valuing 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.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
