British racing team and supercar maker McLaren is reportedly about to be sold to Mumtalakat, a sovereign wealth fund wholly owned by the Bahraini government. In the past, Mumtalakat was a 60% shareholder, but is now looking to take full control.
According to Sky News, the deal has not yet been finalized but is close to being finalized as final negotiations between Mumtalakat and McLaren’s minority shareholders take place. If accepted, their equity would be converted into “collateral-type instruments”, giving them first rights to long-term investments, for example as part of an initial public offering (IPO).
Citing a banking source, Sky claims that the announcement will be made later this week.
The deal would see around 20% of the existing capital transferred to those new contracts and leave Mumtalakat as McLaren’s sole shareholder. Although the F1 team is under this direction, McLaren Racing still has external shareholders, as a part of the team was sold during the pandemic. to raise capital. It turns out that the agreement with Bahrain would have no effect on this structure.
McLaren has struggled financially in recent years, and while the F1 team has largely been a success as a midfield team, the company as a whole has had to take excessive steps to secure capital. In 2020, the automaker sold its iconic McLaren. Technology Centre to raise £200 million, renting the facility for continued use.
Then, amid a series of delays and reliability issues ahead of the launch of the McLaren Artura, the company sold part of its Heritage collection of vintage racing and street cars, raising $123 million when Mumtalakat stepped in as buyer. Earlier this year, McLaren raised another $85 million as part of an ongoing investment campaign to raise around seven times that figure.
The logo is discovered in a curious position where its existing product line, with the exception of Artura, is aging. The McLaren 750S is a slight facelift of the 720S, and even the recently revealed McLaren GTS is nothing more than a facelift of the 720S. GT similar advancements to the 750S.
The Artura is the only product with genuine new features, adding a new electrical architecture and a new V6 engine. We expect there to be more products in the coming years, all hybrid, and as soon as governments can set global standards. , an electric McLaren could also be on the way. Then there’s the question of a four-door McLaren, which will take the form of an electric sedan that will rival the Taycan, or an SUV that will rival the Purosangue, the latter being a strong choice given current CEO Michael Leiters’ past influence on Ferrari when Purosangue envisioned it.
In recent years, there have been several rumours that McLaren is looking to partner with other OEMs such as BMW, but it has been reported that McLaren’s volatile financial design has prevented those opportunities. With company ownership and funding in place, the British supercar logo may remain a horny spouse for other OEMs.