Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following 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 the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings after 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 drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
