Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised 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 approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports film to date.
Present Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
