Wolff reported in talks to sell 5 per cent stake to Crowdstrike CEO Kurtz

Mercedes governance unchanged, all partners committed to F1 success

Team valuations have soared with F1’s growing popularity

LONDON, Nov 12 — Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell part of his stake in Mercedes F1 to Crowdstrike CEO George Kurtz in a deal that would value the Formula One team at a record US$6 billion (RM24.7 billion), the Financial Times reported yesterday.

Austrian Wolff, Mercedes-Benz and Jim Ratcliffe’s petrochemicals giant Ineos currently each hold 33 per cent stakes.

Mercedes would not comment on the report but said “the governance of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One.”

There was no comment from other named parties.

The FT and Sportico, which first reported the talks, indicated Wolff — who serves as team principal as well as head of Mercedes motorsport — planned to bring an outside investor into the holding company that owns his stake.

The FT quoted a person with knowledge of the matter saying that the investor would end up taking a stake of about 5 per cent in the team, with Wolff remaining in his roles.