Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – following McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Increase
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.