Chinese billionaire Li Shufu plans to increase his stake in Aston Martin over time to encourage collaboration with the suffering luxury automaker, according to other people familiar with the matter.
Li, whose Zhejiang Geely Holding Group acquired a 7. 6 percent stake in the British logo last month, is interested in expanding that stake by nearly 10 percent in the future, said the resources, which asked to be known because the talks are private. Move can pave the way for further sharing of electrification generation and knowledge.
Geely’s considerations are at an initial level and it is possible that it will remain at the current level of participation, the resources said.
Any attempt to take too much may face opposition from existing shareholders, adding Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll.
Recently, Geely has no plans to increase its stake in Aston Martin, the company said in a statement. A representative for Aston Martin declined to comment.
Once touted as a Ferrari peer, Aston Martin has suffered a series of setbacks since its IPO in 2018. With currencies dwindling and debt rising, the automaker sought a bailout in 2020 from Stroll, who injected coins and forged closer ties with Mercedes.
At the time of the investment on Sept. 30, Geely said he saw potential opportunities to collaborate with Aston Martin. A move through the James Bond filmmaker could rush Geely to capitalize on the automaker’s logo appeal and expand into new markets.
Geely, which owns Volvo Cars and a plethora of stakes in major car companies in addition to Mercedes, also took over British roadster manufacturer Lotus in 2017. Earlier this year, Lotus unveiled an electric SUV that will be built in China and spearhead a broader style. alignment. With a plan to increase production to 150,000 cars, from less than 2,000.
Proposal rejected
In July, Aston Martin said it had rejected a proposal from Geely and Investindustrial for a capital investment of up to 1. 3 billion pounds ($1. 5 billion). Since then, its shares have fallen nearly 40%.
While its recovery was being executed, Aston Martin noticed that key models were delayed, leading to further measures to help the company. This included a capital accumulation of £654 million on its balance sheet, as requested by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
“Aston Martin is a leading strategic brand” and Geely will be able to use this date to further penetrate Europe or leverage its technology, said Kelvin Lau, an analyst at Daiwa Capital Markets.
Send us a letter
Do you have an opinion on this story? Click here to receive a letter to the editor, and we can publish it in print.
Our Mission
(877) 812-1584
send us an email