And still no comment on public offering.
It’s been an awesome year for Aston Martin, as the venerable British sports car brand is set to announce its first pre-tax profit since 2010, an achievement undoubtedly carried on the back of the Aston Martin DB11 and the new Vantage, as well as the family of Zagato special editions. Naturally, the timing would be right for a well-heeled party, particularly an existing shareholder, to expand their holding of the winged marque a little further. So there was little surprise when rumours began to circulate that one of Aston’s key shareholders was looking to further secure their spot.
Investindustrial, an Italian fund led by businessman Andrea Bonomi, has denied allegations that it was looking to expand its holding in Aston Martin any further than the 37.5% it already owns, particularly by buying into (or buying out) other shareholders like Daimler (who owns 5%) or the consortium of Kuwaiti investors (that own, together, 54.5%). These rumours were brought to light by Italian daily Il Messeggero, that claimed that Investindustrial had considered the move so intently that it discussed the matter with the Board at Aston Martin.
“Because of the recent good performance of the Aston Martin business, none of the shareholders want to sell. [However] Given that [Investindustrial] is a private equity fund, it might eventually want to monetise its assets.” — Spokesperson for Investindustrial
The spokesperson also denied that there had ever been discussions about the ownership structure of Aston Martin, and also refused to comment on the potential of an Initial Public Offering (IPO) for the brand.
The IPO rumour mill was recently reignited by brand boss Andy Palmer, who said that the timing of an IPO is a matter that would have to be decided upon by shareholders. However, Palmer suggested that he is receptive to the idea of a move, though ideally, it ought to take place before Aston’s ‘turnaround plan’ is completed by 2022.
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