Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's 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, between 2014 to 2021.
