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Aston Martin scores bids from Mahindra and UK equity house

Jonathon Ramsey — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Performance, Aston Martin, Earnings/Financials, UK, India, Middle East, Luxury

Three weeks, ago Businessweek reported that Investment Dar, Inc. was looking to shed its majority stake in Aston Martin. The Kuwait-based financial firm is apparently seeking to restructure its debt load and has sought $800 million for its 64-percent share in the English automaker. That amount compares to the $925 million that it took for a consortium, Investment Dar among them, to purchase 100-percent of Aston Martin from Ford in 2007.

According to reports, bidding for the 64 percent hasn't gone anywhere near that price, however. Bloomberg (parent company of Businessweek) reports that London-based private equity house Investindustrial has made a bid of nearly 250 million pounds ($401 million U.S.), with their overture trumped shortly thereafter by Indian automaking conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra. According to the report, a winner will be chosen from among those two companies, but instead of Investment Dar's entire 64-percent stake, the winner will get 40 percent equity and 50 percent of the voting rights. Investment Dar will hold onto 24 percent of Aston.

There's some confusion around some of the numbers, however. According to Financial News, though, the stake being offered is 50 percent and Investindustrial, even with a lower bid, might still be the favorite. Investindustrial bought Ducati in 2006, then sold it to Audi for a 300-percent gain in July of this year. Working with another German automaker this time around, it's said that Investindustrial has stressed its commitment to invest in new product, and both reports indicate that it has a tentative deal with Mercedes-Benz to provide Aston access to technology, engines, gearboxes and other parts from AMG. An announcement of the winning bidder could come as soon as this weekend.

Aston Martin scores bids from Mahindra and UK equity house originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 24 Nov 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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REPORT: Aston Martin in jeopardy as parent company Investment Dar in financial turmoil

Frank Filipponio — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:29:00 EST

Filed under: Performance, Aston Martin, Earnings/Financials, Luxury

Is Aston Martin on the brink of insolvency? Britain's Guardian is reporting that the Kuwaiti fund that owns half of Aston is having trouble refinancing the debt it's incurred during the recent global economic crisis. It hasn't help that the fund failed to report its 2008 financial records on time and subsequently had trading halted on its shares. All isn't doom and gloom, however. Kuwait's Investment Dar says that it recently inked a deal that will at least buy it some time in working out a new plan to get out of its mess, but oil prices just aren't what they used to be, and money is hard to come by - even for wealth funds.

When Ford sold Aston Martin in March of 2007, times were better for the consortium that bought David Brown's legacy. Along with ex-racer Dave Richards, banker John Singers and Adeem Investment, Investment Dar bought the Bond-ride firm for $925m (£480m). Fast forward to late 2008 and Investment Dar was itself trying to borrow $1B (£630m) to refinance debt, and iteven defaulted on a $100m Islamic bond in April. So, the Dar finds itself in a position of having to keep its creditors at bay while it seeks to right the ship. The agreement they've reached now is known as a standstill agreement. That means creditors won't make any new individual claims for a while. The arrangement will continue until the end of the year and hopefully Aston Martin will survive the financial storm.

[Source: The Guardian]

REPORT: Aston Martin in jeopardy as parent company Investment Dar in financial turmoil originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Shaken, Not Stirred: Aston parent company reportedly defaults on $100M Islamic bond

Jonathon Ramsey — Tue, 12 May 2009 16:40:00 EST

Filed under: Aston Martin, Earnings/Financials

Investment Dar, the Kuwaiti firm that owns part of Aston Martin, has reportedly defaulted on payment for a $100 million Islamic bond that was due on April 27. In the process, Bloomberg says it has become the first Persian Gulf company to default on an Islamic bond.

In December of last year, Dar was considering selling a 20- to 30% stake in Aston Martin in order "to profit financially or technically" it said at the time. It was also trying to refinance its short-term debt, attempting to tap banks for 200 to 300 million Kuwati dinars ($691 million-$1 billion U.S.), the upper end of which being more than Dar paid for its share of Aston Martin in the first place.

According to Bloomberg, Dar remains open to selling peripheral assets to shore up its position and it is working with Credit Suisse to restructure. The investment firm has another big Islamic bond maturing in September, and even though the Kuwaiti government is working with national banks to assist them in the downturn, Dar probably doesn't want to be seen setting a pattern of stumbling. Thanks for the tip, Bo!

[Source: Bloomberg]

Shaken, Not Stirred: Aston parent company reportedly defaults on $100M Islamic bond originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 12 May 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aston Martin back up for sale?

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:01:00 EST

Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Aston Martin, Earnings/Financials, Rumormill

Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2009 Aston Martin V8 Vantage

It's been a busy few years for Aston Martin. Back in May of 2007, the British sportscar company was sold by Ford to a consortium of investors, including Kuwaiti firm Investment Dar and its partner Adeem Investment Company. Ever since, the grapevine has swirled regarding the future of Mr. Bond's favorite automaker, with the rumormill hitting a fever-pitch as of late with whispers that up to 20% of Dar's stake is available for bidding.

Aston Martin's future product chips all seem to be on the table already, with thr new four-door Panamera-fighting Rapide, Lagonda uber-luxury sedan and One-77 supercar all waiting in the wings. Of course, all of that development work is expensive, and times are already tough. If an agreement is struck, Dar would be looking to either profit from selling a portion of Aston or for an instant infusion to its current stable of technology. We wonder if Mercedes-Benz, which has both cash and engineering expertise, may be involved in any potential deal.

Gallery: First Drive: 2009 Aston Martin V8 Vantage

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

Aston Martin back up for sale? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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