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 – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
