Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
