Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630m (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
