Bahrain sovereign wealth fund open to McLaren IPO, says CEO

MANAMA: Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund remains open to an initial public offering (IPO) of McLaren Group Ltd, though it is not in a rush to sell its controlling stake in the supercar maker and Formula One racing team.

“When we think it’s the right time, we’ll go” for an IPO, said Mahmood Al Kooheji, chief executive officer of Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Co.

“We’re a happy investor in McLaren.”

While United Kingdom-based McLaren will be affected by the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, it will need to “redefine a solution for it”, Al Kooheji said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

McLaren is Mumtalakat’s biggest investment in Europe.

Aston Martin and Bentley Motors have been making arrangements to do what they can to avoid problems with their supply chains as British Prime Minister Theresa May considers a plan to delay Brexit and stop the UK leaving the European Union with no deal next month.

The Bahrain fund is confident this will be a better year, Al Kooheji said.

The fund has been seeking to diversify away from the Middle East where it holds 63 per cent of its US$15.4 billion (RM62.2 billion) portfolio. About 29 per cent of its holdings are in Europe, while North America accounts for eight per cent.

Al Kooheji said Asia is a “very interesting area” and the fund is keen to invest there.