McLaren F1 team owner valued at more than £3bn in stake sale
Middle Eastern owners set to buy out minority shareholders in deal that crystallises big gains for investors including Ares
The middle eastern backers of McLaren Racing are set to buy out minority shareholders in a deal that values the Formula 1 team owner at more than £3bn, underscoring the turnaround in its fortunes under chief executive Zak Brown.
Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat and Abu Dhabi investment group CYVN Holdings are close to confirming a deal to buy the 30 per cent stake owned by investors who stepped in with capital during the coronavirus pandemic, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
A £3bn valuation would be more than five times the £560mn ascribed to McLaren in the December 2020 fundraising. It would crystallise significant gains for investors including New York-based investment firm MSP Sports Capital, hedge fund UBS O’Connor and the Najafi Companies. Ares Management later also confirmed it had made a minority investment alongside MSP.
An announcement of the deal, first reported by Sky News, is due as soon as Tuesday. McLaren, Mumtalakat and Ares declined to comment. CYVN, which acquired McLaren’s automotive business and a minority stake in the racing arm earlier this year, did not respond to a request for comment.
McLaren has emerged as the dominant force in F1 over the past two years after languishing in the shadow of rivals Mercedes and Red Bull Racing for more than a decade.
The UK-based team last year won its first F1 constructors’ championship since 1998 but missed out on the drivers’ award.
But this season the team’s drivers, Australia’s Oscar Piastri and British teammate Lando Norris, are locked in a two-way battle to win the drivers’ championship, and McLaren is dominating the constructors championship.
The jump in the team’s valuation is also a result of the growth of F1 more broadly under the ownership of John Malone’s Liberty Media. F1 has embraced digital marketing and expanded its reach through the hit Netflix series Formula 1: Drive to Survive.
Brown joined McLaren in 2016 but results did not meaningfully improve until after he promoted Italian engineer Andrea Stella to team principal at the end of 2022.
Payments company Mastercard last week agreed to become McLaren’s title sponsor from 2026.
McLaren Racing also competes in the IndyCar US racing series and earlier this year set out plans to enter the World Endurance Championship, home of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, from 2027.
The team is owned by McLaren Group Limited, the entity that is buying out its minority shareholders. Mumtalakat is the controlling shareholder of McLaren Group Limited, with CYVN holding a non-controlling stake.