Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed more than $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
