Carmaker McLaren denies talks with Apple

British supercar maker McLaren said Wednesday it was not in talks with Apple about a possible acquisition by the US tech giant, denying a report in the Financial Times.

“We can confirm that McLaren is not in discussion with Apple in respect of any potential investment,” a spokesman for the company said in a statement.

The newspaper had cited three unnamed sources saying the iPhone maker was looking at a potential takeover of or investment in McLaren, which could be valued at up to £1.5 billion (Dh7.2 billion, €1.7 billion, $1.9 billion).

A spokesman for Apple said the company would not comment on “rumours or speculation”.

A deal would have been seen as part of a bid by Apple to challenge Tesla, the US luxury electric carmaker founded by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk.

‘Big flag’

“Owning McLaren would be Apple waving a big flag over its intention to enter the car industry,” said Jasper Lawler, a market analyst with CMC Markets in London.

“As a high-end technology company, Apple appears to want to be at the high, cutting-edge end of the car industry too.”

He added: “An Apple acquisition of Tesla now looks unlikely and Tesla now faces a big new competitor.”

Apple fuelled speculation about its ambitions in the auto sector this year with a billion-dollar investment in Chinese ride-sharing company Didi Chuxing.

The New York Times reported earlier this month that Apple was rethinking its strategy, mothballing parts of its Titan self-driving cars project.