Aston Martin said on Friday it was looking to raise 653 million pounds ($772 million) through a right issue to shareholders, while bringing in Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund as its second-largest shareholder.
The luxury automaker said Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Yew Tree Consortium and Mercedes-Benz will together invest 335 million pounds. The financing will involve a separate rights issue of 575 million pounds
PIF will own 16.7 percent stake in Aston Martin, behind the 18.3 percent holding by Chairman Lawrence Stroll’s Yew Tree. Mercedes, which owns about a 11.7 percent stake, will cut its stake to about 9.7 percent with the announcement.
Last month, the Financial Times reported that PIF, which owns stakes in electric car maker Lucid and British supercar group McLaren, was in early talks with Aston Martin about taking a stake in the business.