Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
