Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed more than $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, behind 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 secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
