Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports film to date.
Current Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.