Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports film to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
