Aston Martin SOLD!

[Kowalski]

Read the article.

Sale of Aston Martin enters final lap
By Andrew English, Motoring Correspondent - 08/03/2007

Aston Martin, the iconic luxury marque, would be sold by the end of the week, sources said yesterday at the opening day of the Geneva Motor Show.

An Aston Martin at the Geneva Motor Show where the talk is that the luxury carmaker will be sold by the weekend

"It's a done deal. All that remains is to cross the t's and dot the i's," said a senior source.

Aston Martin owner Ford is expected to sign the deal early on Friday in Detroit. The sale will see ownership of the 86-year-old British GT maker transfer to a consortium of business interests from America and the Middle East, headed by Prodrive founder and world rally championship owner David Richards.

Prodrive, which runs Aston Martin's works racing team and has worked with the company for many years, has emerged ahead of the remaining bidders Doughty Hanson and Syrian property businessman Simon Halabi.

The price is rumoured to be in the region of £500m, about half what Ford was asking when it first put the company up for sale six months ago. Ford is expected to maintain an interest in the firm as it is still lead supplier of component parts at preferential rates. Current Aston Martin chief executive Ulrich Benz will remain in day-to-day charge of the company and Mr Richards will head up the supervising board.

The existing relationship between Mr Richards and Aston Martin will have been seen as a bonus by Ford, which in spite of the financial problems that have forced it to sell Aston, is anxious to be seen as a good custodian of the marque.

Although Aston Martin has traditionally been seen as a good way to separate a rich man from the contents of his wallet, the sale has still attracted a huge number of potential buyers. Ford has admitted that it has had to weed out "Walter Mitty" types who had dreams but no experience.

In its 86-year existence, Aston Martin has been owned by few people and each time it has changed hands there has been an amazing story to tell. In 1947, English entrepreneur David Brown spotted Aston Martin for sale in a classified advertisement in The Times - "High-class motor business, established 25 years; £30,000; net profits last year £4,000. - Write Box V1362, The Times E.CO.4." He eventually bought it for just £20,000.


Source: Daily Telegraph

Prodrive website: http://www.prodrive.com/

[JonathanRohr]

Daaaaaang... will ford still continue to own all the James Bond movies?

[igor]

this RUMOR has been around since MONDAY ... Ford has been adamant that it is NOT SOLD YET .... but Prodrive is consistently mentioned as Forerunner for the brand.

but I would not be jumping the gun justyet .. just remember the "Aston Martin was sold to Louis Vitton" reports from a couple weeks ago.

Igor

[igor]

Originally Posted by JonathanRohr

Daaaaaang... will ford still continue to own all the James Bond movies?

yup - the next Bond car is to be a Jag.

Igor

[guitarlix]

Incase you're wondering who Prodrive is

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE5goTrxPgg

[Kowalski]

Originally Posted by igor

yup - the next Bond car is to be a Jag.

Igor

The new Jaguar XF.





It's the replacement for the current ageing S-Type. Jaguar says the production version will look similar to the Concept.

Speaking of which, here it is a spy-shot of it:http://www.worldcarfans.com/spyphoto...more-jaguar-xf

[rsbaker]

£500,000,000 sounds cheap to me for a ready made luxury car company with lots of name recognition and brand equity. I think the new owners got a bargain..... Ford got screwed.

[Toto]

Originally Posted by Kowalski

The new Jaguar XF.

It's the replacement for the current ageing S-Type. Jaguar says the production version will look similar to the Concept.

Speaking of which, here it is a spy-shot of it:http://www.worldcarfans.com/spyphoto...more-jaguar-xf

What a car.

The British build simply the most beautiful coupes in my humble opinion. I am a big coupe fan, that's the reason why I hate it to see foreign companys playing games with them.

[logansowner]

Originally Posted by rsbaker

£500,000,000 sounds cheap to me for a ready made luxury car company with lots of name recognition and brand equity. I think the new owners got a bargain..... Ford got screwed.

Ford sold it.... willingly. No cause for complaing about the B3 getting screwed every time you turn the page.

[nadepalma]

Well if it's true it will be interesting. If not then we'll have to wait to see what the next rumor is.

BUT it would be interesting to see how they can survive with a racing/technology company like Prodrive at the helm. Smaller boutique manufacturers fare well at times when the world-economy is good -- but suffer when times get rough -- just from economies of scale this is an issue. But it would be interesting to see how they can cope with it.

Also, interesting to ponder --- does Prodrive (or whomever the new owner is) want to double it's "footprint" by re-activating the Lagonda brand? Do you use common components to create the ultra-GT and the ultimate-Luxury sedans off common components? What does that to do the Rapide?

All good stuff to think about!

[igor]

Originally Posted by nadepalma

Well if it's true it will be interesting. If not then we'll have to wait to see what the next rumor is.

BUT it would be interesting to see how they can survive with a racing/technology company like Prodrive at the helm. Smaller boutique manufacturers fare well at times when the world-economy is good -- but suffer when times get rough -- just from economies of scale this is an issue. But it would be interesting to see how they can cope with it.

Also, interesting to ponder --- does Prodrive (or whomever the new owner is) want to double it's "footprint" by re-activating the Lagonda brand? Do you use common components to create the ultra-GT and the ultimate-Luxury sedans off common components? What does that to do the Rapide?

All good stuff to think about!

I believe the ex[pected arrangement is that Ford will maintain some share of the brand and let the new owner continue to use current and Future Ford technology in the cars.

Also we should not forget Prodrive Co-Owns with FoMoCo the Australian FordPerformanceVehicles.

Igor

[SonicAerio]

Originally Posted by igor

I believe the ex[pected arrangement is that Ford will maintain some share of the brand and let the new owner continue to use current and Future Ford technology in the cars.

Also we should not forget Prodrive Co-Owns with FoMoCo the Australian FordPerformanceVehicles.

Igor

Exactly...I see this as a benefit for both...Ford still gets to stay on board and they just made some money...like GM did in the past selling off stakes and Partnerships to gain capital, Ford is doing now....a Bold and good move for the future

[SUPERBADD75]

i wonder how this will affect the plans for the Rapide. wow, Aston's (very likely) changing hands again. you have to wonder where they go from here. do they stay on top of the lux game or just kind of hang around in the background like Lotus?

[kenman923]

I am hoping this is not another case of "Dewey defeats Truman."

[jwrebholz]

I'd be very happy if Prodrive buys AM. I think they can do the company proper justice and keep it making great cars.