Aston Martin in talks with potential investors, confirmed

The British automaker has confirmed that it is in discussions with new potential investors after news broke last week about Lawrence Stroll, a billionaire from Canada, preparing a bid to buy a significant stake in Aston Martin. The information has been confirmed and disclosed by a statement issued to the stock exchange. Recently, a news publication reported that various firms based in China, India and the Middle East are also looking to buy stakes in Aston Martin along with some other rival automakers. 

The statement read, “The company confirms that it is reviewing its funding requirements and various funding options. It is also engaged in early-stage discussions with potential strategic investors in relation to building longer-term relationships which may or may not involve an equity investment. A further announcement will be made as and when appropriate.”

Lawrence Stroll is the owner of the Racing point F1 team and father of F1 driver Lance, who is estimated to be worth more than £2 billion (AED 9,817,969,186 approx). The Canadian billionaire is also famous for owning the finest collection of Ferraris in the world. Additionally, he is said to be an investor in major fashion brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, Asprey and Pierre Cardin.

Stroll, being a fine businessman, might be looking to take advantage of the company’s low stock price and lower than expected sales in recent times. Currently, Aston Martin’s share price is hovering around £5, which is well below its recent highs. Due to lower than expected sales, the price dropped by 75% this year. Also, the company reported a pre-tax loss of 92.3 million pounds for the initial nine months of the year. 

Currently, one of the biggest stakeholders in Aston Martin is Strategic European Investment Group, a division of Investindustrial, which is an Italian private equity group, with one-third of Aston Martin shares. Daimler owns 4% of the company which is also the engine supplier to Stroll’s Racing Point F1 team and parent company of Mercedes-Benz. Adeem/Primewagon group from Kuwait is also one of the major stakeholders in Aston Martin. 

Aston Martin has recently introduced its first-ever SUV, the DBX that is powered by a 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbo engine, mated to the Mercedes’ 9-speed 9G-Tronic automatic transmission. The setup is capable of pumping out a max power of 550 PS and a peak torque of 700 Nm. The DBX can sprint to 100 kmph from standstill in 4.5 seconds before attaining its top speed of 291 kmph. It uses a bonded aluminium construction which is famous to be deployed in Aston Martin’s sports cars. A new factory has been opened near Cardiff in St Athan to produce the DBX. 

Also read: Meet the new Aston Martin’s DBS Superleggera Concorde Edition