The Saudi Arabian public fund is many startups and also fuels the SoftBankVision Fund. But it is also very prevalent in the automotive space with it being behind electric car maker Lucid Motors which is run by many ex-Tesla employees. Heck, even Elon Musk has dabbled with the public fund, but to no great success. The latest entrant to this game is Lawrence Stroll-backed Aston Martin. The Canadian billionaire not only owns a majority stake in the motorcar company but also is the executive chairman of its race car division Aston Martin Technologies.
Overall, Aston Martin will get an investment of $400 million via Stroll’s own Yew Tree investment group alongside Mercedes Benz which already owns a stake in the company and the Saudi Public investment fund. Another $383 million will be pumped into Aston Martin via a public share issue.
The goal for the iconic British motorcar maker is to generate $2.4 billion in revenue annually by producing and selling 10,000 cars in the duration. In the first half of 2022, it just managed 2676 cars which was a number lower than what it achieved last year at 2901. Its projection for 2022 is 6600 cars but that is well short of the 10,000 number Stroll has been pushing for.
“The announcement marks the latest success in the evolution of Aston Martin, the restoration of the business and balance sheet we inherited, and the acceleration of our long-term growth potential,” said the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund in a statement.
More so Lawrence Stroll described this round of investment as a game changer. “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,” said the billionaire.
Stroll’s overtures towards Aston Martin started with him taking over the Force India F1 team that had gone into administration after Indian liquor Barron Vijay Mallya was having legal and financial troubles in 2018. Stroll’s son Lance was part of that team and after he made a hostile takeover of the Aston Martin motorcar brand with a group of investors, he transformed the Racing Point F1 team which was the rebrand from Force India to Aston Martin Cognizant F1 ream.
The reentry of Aston Martin to F1 was one of the tent poles of Stroll’s strategy to make Aston Martin sexy again and help it compete better against the likes of Porsche and Ferrari. He even managed to raise sponsorship for the F1 team from ARAMCO, which is the world’s richest oil company backed by the Saudi Arabian kingdom.
“Aston Martin’s return to the pinnacle of motorsport with the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One 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,” concluded Stroll.
