Aston Martin Welcome Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund As New Investors

The PIF is also behind the Newcastle takeover and LIV Golf project.
12:05, 15 Jul 2022

British automotive firm Aston Martin has announced an investment plan worth £653 million as the company aims to offset the poor stock value, high debt and turbulent performances of the Aston Martin F1 Team. 

Within the investment group is existing owner Lawrence Stroll, who will remain majority shareholder within the company with 18.3%, meaning that Lance Stroll should be expected to keep his seat in the Aston Martin F1 team for the foreseeable future. 

Joining him on the board is the Saudi contingent, investing through the Public Investment Fund. This group were the same people that funded the takeover of Newcastle United last year and more recently have backed Greg Norman’s LIV Golf project, offering the biggest prize pots in the history of golf.

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The Saudi fund will now have two seats on the board of directors to reflect their 16.7% stake in Aston Martin at the cost of around £78 million. In terms of decision making at the brand, we’re yet to see if this will affect their F1 outfit, as the focus is now on Lawrence Stroll making the company profitable again, with the team taking a bit of a backseat at this time. 

The PIF is already involved in another F1 team, as they invested part of McLaren’s £400 million funding in July 2021, however the other luxury British motoring brand is still owned in the majority by Bahrain’s Mumtalakat sovereign investment fund. 

The need for investment has come since losing value after it was first floated on the stock market in 2018. Its initial float of £4.33 billion has now been reduced to £490 million, and without the investment from Stroll in 2020, it probably wouldn’t be operating in its current guise. 

Also reported at the same time is that the firm rejected a £1.3 billion investment proposal from a group led by Chinese car firm Geely, known for being key investors in Volvo, Polestar and the London Electric Vehicle Company.

The offer was rejected as it would have diluted the existing shareholders after they ‘markedly overestimated’ the funding requirements of the luxury brand. 

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