Line to buy Ford's Aston Martin grows
At least five potential Aston Martin buyers have now whipped out their platinum cards in anticipation of taking the esteemed carmaker off Ford's hands. One London banker said, "The interesting question is whether this is just going to be a scrap between the rich men of Russia and the rich men of the Middle East." It's interesting to note the plethora of former Ford execs hoping to get a piece of Aston.
List of potential bidders after the jump.
[Source: thebusinessonline.com]
Here are the parties currently known to be interested in buying Aston Martin from Ford:
- Aston Matin CEO Ulrich Bez
- JP Morgan Chase's One Equity led by former Ford CEO Jacques Nasser
- Equity group Cerberus Capital headed by David Thursfield, former Ford of Europe head who also once led Ford's PAG.
- British investment firm Magma run by another former CEO of Ford of Europe and current head of LDV (a British cargo van builder) Martin Leach
- Dubai-based investment holding company Istithmar
- French billionaire team Bernard Arnault and Albert Frere
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Michael D. 2:20PM (10/29/2006)
I wonder if Ford will retain a stake in Aston Martin if this goes through? I hope so and I wish they wouldn't sell it at all and break up PAG. I see what's in PAG's lineup and plans and it's all outstanding and should remain as a tight unit. Also, I fear if someone takes over Aston Martin, will it jeopardize the plans for amazing products like the Rapide? I'm sure many want to see this offering happen.
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hmmm 2:50PM (10/29/2006)
autoblog wrote...
Here are the parties currently known to be interested in buying Aston Martin from Ford:
Aston Matin CEO Ulrich Bez
...
aston matin who ?
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retsel 3:42PM (10/29/2006)
if i were prince William i would sell the family jewels and buy it...
then make the following...
a real door sedan.. like a bently continental
a crossover
a powerboat... don't ask..
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Ed Spivak 8:05PM (10/29/2006)
What doesn't make sense to me is why FoMoCo would give up a such a profitable and powerful brand. I am still skeptical of the sale, but money is money.
Ed Spivak
http://www.espivak.com
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MTV Sucks 1:15AM (10/30/2006)
Aston-Martin is autonomous enough that it won't require much legal wrangling.
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ctmarketing 10:00AM (10/30/2006)
Ford is selling because 1. they nedd the billion or so and 2. they need to quit worrying about how cool it is to own exotic British car makers and focus on the Ford and Lincoln brands.
if they nedd a halo brand in the future bring back the SVO division. an SVO Edge and Fusion would be hot.
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Brian 10:51AM (10/30/2006)
I don't see what the big deal is.
Take what Ford paid for them, add what they've invested in them and multiply the result by 1.25 or 1.5. Make that the minimum offer and let the bidding war begin.
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The Dearborn Observer 4:56PM (10/30/2006)
I'm sure that if the CHASE bid lead by Jack Nasar is accepted AM will be broke in 3 years. His track record is: run Ford Austrlia into the ground, run Ford of Europe into the ground, run Ford North America into the ground. What was Karl Jung's definition of insanity?
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