Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Current Standings
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
