Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Present Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
