BAHRAIN’S SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUND TAKES FULL OWNERSHIP OF MCLAREN GROUP

The group has suffered from financial stress in recent years, especially after the pandemic

Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund (SWF) Mumtalakat has taken full ownership of British supercar company McLaren Group. The Bahraini SWF was already McLaren’s biggest shareholder prior to the takeover. McLaren fully owns McLaren Automotive, the sports car manufacturer, and is a majority shareholder in McLaren Racing, the company’s Formula 1 team. The deal means Mumtalakat now also owns a majority stake in the F1 team.

McLaren said the move marks “a major milestone in the ongoing transformation journey of the luxury automotive and elite motorsports group.”

“We are delighted at Mumtalakat’s continued commitment to McLaren through this deal, which strengthens our ownership and governance structure. This will further enable us to focus on delivering our long-term business plan, including investment in new products and technologies, while continuing to explore potential technical partnerships with industry partners,” McLaren Group executive chairman Paul Walsh said.

“This reorganization and new simplified structure positions McLaren for success and opens up strategic avenues, which include exploring new partnerships to enhance the company’s growth over the coming years,” added Mumtalakat CEO Sheikh Abdulla bin Khalifa Al Khalifa. Mumtalakat has been an investor in the group since 2007, when it bought a 30 percent stake from founding shareholders Ron Dennis and Mansour Ojjeh.

The group has been subject to financial stress for a few years now. In the first nine months of 2023, the group reported a loss of GBP 279.5 million ($353.23 million).

The Covid-19 pandemic put significant strain on the company as production of cars was suspended and racing activities around the world were canceled. McLaren’s teams compete in Formula 1, IndyCar, Formula E, Extreme E and esports competitions.

The group also underwent a major restructuring, and announced a layoff of 25 percent of its workforce in May 2020.

The group was subsequently hit by widespread disruption to supply chains, in particular shortage of computer chips.

McLaren Group announced in December 2023 that its shareholders had approved a full recapitalization of the group.

In January 2024, the group confirmed GBP 30 million in additional funding as part of the recapitalization process.