Aston Martin raises over £650m in new capital as Saudis take stake
Summary
The company -- best known for supplying cars to the James Bond movies -- is selling over 23 million news shares to Saudi Arabias sovereign wealth fund PIF, which will become its second-largest shareholder.It said up to half the proceeds from the rights issue will be used to repay debt. PIF will have two seats on the boardThis is a game changing event for Aston Martin, said Lawrence Stroll, executive chairman.I am delighted to welcome the Public Investment Fund as a new anchor shareholder.The investment will also help develop Aston Martins DBX sports utility brand and meet its targets for electric cars. It intends to deliver a hybrid model in 2024 and a fully electrified model by 2030.The Warwickshire-based company has carried a heavy debt burden and its sales were hit hard by the pandemic, just as it faced rising development costs relating to electric cars. It has also been faced with supply chain disruption from Covid-19 measures in China, although the weaker pound has helped it, with what it called FX tailwinds.Aston turned down an alternative offer from Geely, the Chinese carmaker, and Investindustrial, Astons former owner, for an investment of up to \xa31.3 billion . Aston said that offer markedly overestimated its capital requirements and amounted to an effort to take control without paying a premium to shareholders.Its shares rose 19% to 449p in morning trade in London on Friday.