The mystery surrounding Aston Martin's future is over. After news reports emerged yesterday about Mahindra having pulled out of the race, InvestIndustrial has emerged as the one to emerge victorious in grabbing a 37.5 per cent stake in the British sports and supercar company.
Investment Dar and InvestIndustrial have become equal partners as the latter has pumped in £150mn for the stake. The two promise to invest £500mn over the next five years in product development and R&D. InvestIndustrial had pledged lesser funds but had promised to rope in AMG, Mercedes' performance arm to help in the technical development of future cars and platforms.
Aston Martin has been in a dire situation for a while now. Sales have fallen by 20 per cent this year and it's struggling to make many of its models work, including the four-door luxury saloon, the Rapide. While the company did release a new Vanquish to replace the DBS and revised DB9 and Vantage earlier this year, it hasn't managed to turn the tide around. Suffering due to lower sales in its crucial markets of Europe and US and increasing competition from Ferrari, Porsche and even Maserati has made life difficult for the brand, best known for its association with James Bond.
According to reports, Mahindra pulled out from the deal as the debts on Aston Martin's books weren't too inspiring and found the purchase to be more of a trophy deal, rather than adding real value to the two-wheelers-to-trucks-and-aircraft firm.
