Wolff Preparing to Divest Stake Pricing Mercedes Formula 1 Team at ยฃ4.6 Billion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values Mercedes at ยฃ4.6 billion โ a record for an F1 team โ following the McLaren team were valued at ยฃ3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its stake for ยฃ208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630 million (ยฃ458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 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 Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.