16.7% of Aston Martin is now in the hands of Lawrence Stroll. The Canadian billionaire decided to acquire part of the British manufacturer’s capital. According to what reported by ansa.it, the acquisition had a value of circa 182 million pounds (about 216 million euro). Stroll’s ownership though, is destined to grow to 20%. Mr. Stroll is already the owner of Formula 1 team Racing Point.
16.7% of Aston Martin to Lawrence Stroll
The operation is part of a 500-million-pounds plan that involves all partners, called to auction to raise capital for the brand. This became the perfect opportunity for Mr. Stroll, whose ownership should increase from 16.7% to 20%. As highlighted by Ben Marlow in his analysis on The Telegraph, the injection of liquidity into Aston Martin’s balance sheet is of outmost importance. The manufacturer’s president, Penny Hugher has pointed out that there is “strong pressure on the liquidity front”. This predicament forced the brand to acquire outside resources to front the difficult moment. Stroll’s contribution keeps Aston Martin from needing a “100-million-USD loan, which would have had a 15% interest rate”, writes the British analyst.
Looking at Asia
No more than two weeks ago, the Financial Times had published a piece according to which, allegedly, Aston Martin was about to be bought by Chinese investors. Always according to the British newspaper, the interested party was Geely, which had allegedly already started the due diligence process to acquire 007’s sportscars. Aston Martin’s challenging period is well recognized, unfortunately. 2019’s sales decreased by 7%, totaling 5,809 vehicles sold throughout the entire year.
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