Mercedes Benz will take a 20 per cent stake in Aston Martin under a groundbreaking deal for the two car makers to share technology.
Aston will give the German group shares in exchange for access to cutting-edge kit, including for electric cars.
Mercedes will also be able to put a representative on Aston’s board. It already owns a 4.2 per cent stake in the James Bond marque but will be able to ramp this up to as much as 20 per cent over the next three years.
Aston Martin said this would allow it to concentrate on production rather than developing its own technology.
The luxury car maker has flailed since it listed two years ago in October 2018.
The business suffered a series of revenue warnings, losses and emergency fundraisings before a group led by fashion and Formula 1 billionaire Lawrence Stroll bailed it out in a £536m rescue.
But as well as announcing the collaboration with Mercedes, Aston yesterday unveiled plans for a £125m fundraising.
It will sell 250m shares to new and existing investors for 50p a pop – a discount to its current 54.5p price. New investors including New York hedge fund Permian Investment Partners and Zelon Holdings, a European family office, will buy in at the fundraising.
Stroll, who owns 20 per cent of the company and has been Aston’s executive chairman since ousting former boss Andy Palmer in May, said it was a ‘transformational moment’. Stroll added: ‘This is truly game changing. We now have the right team, partner, plan and funding in place to transform the company to be one of the greatest luxury car brands in the world.’
- Jaguar Land Rover returned to profit in the second quarter as sales surged in its Asian market. The luxury car group made £65m between July and September – up from a loss of £413m in the first quarter – on turnover of £4.4billion.
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