Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to 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 more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
