Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports movie to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
