Toto Wolff is in discussions to sell part of his Motorsport Investment Ltd holding company, equivalent to a sale of 5% of Mercedes F1 team shares, which would value the team at a record $6bn.
As first reported by sports business website Sportico, the sale is understood to be at an advanced stage as Wolff looks set to offload shares in his holding company, which owns one third of the shares in Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
The Financial Times has identified the potential buyer as American entrepreneur George Kurtz, the CEO and co-founder of US-based cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. CrowdStrike came on board as a Mercedes sponsor in 2019, with Kurtz an avid sportscar racer himself.
Mercedes' current ownership structure is a three-way split between Wolff, parent company Mercedes-Benz and chemical giant INEOS, headed up by Jim Ratcliffe. If the deal were concluded, Wolff would therefore still remain a significant shareholder in the company and his position as CEO and team principal would not change.
When reached for comment, a Mercedes F1 spokesperson said: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners (Mercedes-Benz, Toto and INEOS) are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
With a $6bn valuation Mercedes would become the most valuable team in F1, up from the $4.7bn McLaren and Ferrari were both recently valued at. It follows the release of Mercedes F1's 2024 financial results in June, which reported an increased 2024 revenue of £636m ($858m), including £120.3m ($161m) profit.
Wolff, previously a shareholder in Williams, joined Mercedes as its motorsport boss and F1 director ahead of the 2013 season. Between 2014 and 2021 the team won eight consecutive constructors' crowns as well as seven drivers' titles with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
Speaking about the rapid growth of F1 at the recent Autosport Business Exchange in New York, Wolff said: "COVID hit, people were at home and Drive to Survive dropped. Younger audiences connected with their parents and grandparents around Formula 1. And we’ve continued to grow, but we have to be wary, because fundamentally, we need to deliver credible sport. If that continues, the other KPIs will perform positively."
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