Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
