Aston Martin F1 has secured a substantial investment from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), team principal Lawrence Stroll has confirmed.
The company’s coffers have been hit hard in 2022 due to debt and financial pressures as well as considerable drops in their share price.
Stroll and Co. have now joined hands with the PIF for what they call ‘equity financing and strategic investment’ going forward.
The Saudi Arabian PIF has investments across the board with companies like Facebook, BP, Marriott, Uber, Tesla, Boeing, Disney, CitiCorp, Total, and Nintendo in their portfolio.
They are also the owners of Aramco, the Silverstone-based outfit’s primary sponsor, which had its IPO in 2019 under the watchful eye of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
The PIF had previously invested in the McLaren F1 team back in 2021, facilitating the rebuild of the Woking-based outfit. They also own Newcastle United in the English Premier League and most recently pledged a huge amount of money to create the LIV Golf Organization, which has stirred up plenty of controversy of its own.
What does the PIF deal mean for Aston Martin and Lawrence Stroll?
As per Lawrence Stroll, the aforementioned deal is expected to rope in a staggering £653 million for team Silverstone in return for a 17% stake of the total venture. This will make PIF the second-largest investor in the business.
Stroll’s Yew Tree consortium will own 18.3%, and Mercedes-Benz will retain 9.7%. It should, however, be noted that both parties have reduced their stakes in a restructure to make the deal possible.
During the confirmation announcement, Lawrence Stroll also admitted to turning down the Geely Group in China, which owns companies like Volvo, Polestar, Proton, Lotus, and Benelli. among others. The Canadian said:
“Overall, this is a game-changing event for Aston Martin, supporting the delivery of our strategic plans and accelerating our long-term growth potential. It transforms our balance sheet, liquidity and cash flow profile and provides greater clarity on our pathway to become sustainably free cash flow positive and create significant shareholder value. With the new leadership team in place, led by Amedeo Felisa, we have the right team and the right strategy to fully realize the long-term potential of Aston Martin.”
Stroll went on to add, saying:
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“Aston Martin’s return to the pinnacle of motorsport with the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 team, has also ushered in a new era for our iconic British brand. Our focus on building brand equity and unleashing the potential of Aston Martin is already delivering growing demand from a new generation of customers, with more than 60% new to the brand in 2021.”
It remains to be seen if this ‘game-changing’ investment translates to immediate on-track improvement for Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll, who haven’t had much to cheer about so far in 2022.
