Toto Wolff has sold 15% of his equity stake in Mercedes to George Kurtz, making the founder and CEO of cybersecurity company CrowdStrike a co-owner and valuing the team at $6 billion.
Kurtz has made a personal acquisition of the stock, which also makes him a technology advisor. The American billionaire has invested in Wolff’s ownership entity – with the team boss owning an equal share of a third of the Mercedes team alongside Mercedes-Benz and INEOS – and Kurtz will join the team’s strategic steering committee alongside Wolff, Mercedes-Benz chairman Ola Kallenius and INEOS founder and chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Wolff’s roles remain unchanged as he remains as team principal and CEO. The BBC reports that a $300 million stake has been sold, valuing Mercedes at $6 billion.
“George’s background is unusual in its breadth: he is a racer, a loyal sports ambassador for Mercedes-AMG and an exceptional entrepreneur,” said Wolff. “He understands both the demands of racing and the realities of building and scaling technology companies. That combination brings specific insight that is increasingly relevant to the future of Formula 1.”
CrowdStrike became a global partner of Mercedes’ F1 team in 2019, but the acquisition stems from Kurtz’s personal fortune.
“If you watch sports [valuations] All around the world they are on the rise,” the BBC quoted Kurtz as saying. “Formula 1 really is at a turning point where it is a thriving business. When you make an investment like that you believe that the sport is going to grow, F1 is going to grow and the team valuations are going to grow, and you will be able to contribute to that growth.”
Mercedes says Kurtz will work in an advisory role and support the team’s innovation and technology strategy, while also growing the team’s ecosystem in the technology sector both in the United States and globally.
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