Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Present Performance
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
