Toto Wolff Preparing to Sell Shareholding Valuing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at £4.6 Billion
Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 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 significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 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.
The team secured a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
