Toto Wolff Preparing to Sell Shareholding Valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
