Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Growth
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects 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 was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film ever released.
Present Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
