Aston Martin being shopped around?

Just last month, we heard rumors of a possible collaboration between Lotus and Aston Martin, but while we assumed this meant trouble for the Malaysian-owned Lotus, it could have been Aston Martin reaching out looking for a buyer. Businessweek reports five unnamed sources have stated that Investment Dar, Inc., the Kuwaiti-based majority shareholder of Aston Martin, has been reaching out to potential buyers for the brand.

It sounds like the leading candidate for a buyer so far is Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., but the hold up so far might be the money Investment Dar is looking to get out of its stake. Having agreed to restructure its $4.9 billion worth of debt, the article says that Investment Dar, holding 64 percent of Aston Martin's shares, is looking to sell its stake for $800 million which compares to the $925 million total price Aston Martin was acquired from Ford Motor Company back in 2007.

Interestingly, Businessweek also reports that Toyota recently looked into acquiring a share of Aston Martin, but there is no definitive word as to the outcome.