Aston Martin makes move for London IPO
THE ICONIC BRAND SYNONYMOUS WITH UK SPYMASTER JAMES BOND IS SAID TO TARGET A VALUATION OF ABOUT £5B
Aston Martin is preparing to list its shares in London after the brand synonymous with UK spymaster James Bond pulled off a multiyear turnaround.
The British maker of sports cars made famous in movies from Goldfinger to Skyfall is said to target a valuation of about £5 billion (Dh23.6 billion, $6.4 billion) — approaching Ferrari NV’s multiples. A final decision on moving forward will take place next month, parent Aston Martin Holdings (UK) Ltd said yesterday in a statement.
The offering will allow the carmaker’s shareholders to cash out with a potential 10-fold return — months before the UK leaves the European Union.
The carmaker itself won’t be raising any funds. Aston Martin will use its own earnings to pay for planned investments in electric cars and a doubling in output to around 14,000 cars a year.
While the UK’s post-Brexit automotive industry is one of the sectors most exposed to potential trade hurdles, Brexit wasn’t a large factor in the IPO calculations, Chief Financial Officer Mark Wilson said. “Brexit is simply a speed hump in the road,” Wilson said by phone. “Aston Martin has existed for 105 years, it has seen a hell of a lot of upheaval in that time.”
Aston Martin, controlled by London-based Investindustrial Advisors Ltd and Kuwaiti Investment Dar, said existing investors will sell at least 25 per cent of the company’s stock on the London Stock Exchange. Ford Motor Co sold the manufacturer in 2007 for £480 million.
Neither investor plans to exit completely, while Mercedes Benz maker Daimler, which has a 4.9 per cent non-voting stake, plans to retain the holding.
‘Luxury company’
Like Ferrari, Gaydon, England-based Aston Martin sees itself as a luxury company, able to attract the higher valuations afforded to companies like Hermes International and Canada Goose Holdings, Wilson said.
“Clearly there’s a great comparator out there and it’s Ferrari,” the executive said.
Like its Italian rival, the British marque has broadened beyond cars, experimenting with Aston Martin-styled yachts and apartments and opening a store in London’s Mayfair shopping district where it sells branded shirts and baby strollers to wealthy patrons.