Aston Martin has had a chequered financial history. Always the builder of some of the most desirable cars on the planet, and the most beautiful, Aston Martin has lurched from one financial crisis to another. But that seemed to come to an end when Ford bought Aston Martin. But Ford has had its problems long before the current car-maker meltdown, and sold Aston Martin to the Kuwaitis last year. No problem, you would think. Not quite, it would seem.
Aston Martin stake up for grabs
Reuters is reporting that Kuwait’s Investment Dar (which actually owns 50% of Aston Martin) is looking to place between 10 & 20% of the company with new investors, and is looking for an additional £650 million in additional financing.
But it doesn’t look like this is a bail out. There is still talk of a floatation in a few years time, and it is said that this is move to secure a wider spread of investors, rather than rats leaving a sinking ship.
In fact, the move by the Investment Dar will only dilute their stake by around 5-10%, so they will still be the biggest shareholder, and motivated for long-term success.
Investment Dar’s executive vice-president Amr Abou El-Seoud said:
We have offers … we are in talks but the (sale) should be value-added whether financially or technically,but we are not considering selling and exiting.”
“It (could) be a maximum 10 to 20 percent of the company to be taken out of all investors, in other words, Dar’s dilution might be in 5 to 10 percent,” he said.
“There is a 60 to 70 percent chance that we will reach a deal soon.
But I don’t think there is any need to believe that Aston Martin is in danger of collapse. It’s cars are, in normal times, very successful and desirable. The world will return to normal. And the investors behind Aston Martin are about as sound as any in the motor industry.
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