Ford to retain stake in Aston Martin
The sale of Aston Martin to a consortium led by English motor-sport entrepreneur David Richards is expected to be announced this week, possibly as early as tomorrow.
Richards is understood to have secured the backing of a group of Gulf investors for the deal, which will value the sports car company at around £450m, in line with analysts’ valuations.
It is understood Ford will retain a stake of around 15%, and is likely to agree to continue to provide technical support and components.
Richards, 54, an accountant who became a world champion rally co-driver, is the founder of Prodrive, a motor-racing and specialist engineering company set up originally to handle the Rothmans rally team.
He is expected to become Aston Martin’s chairman, with chief executive Ulrich Bez staying at the company.
Richards already has close ties with Aston Martin and Ford. Prodrive builds the Aston Martin DBR9 racing cars that run at the Le Mans 24 Hour race. He has a private collection of historic Aston Martins. London Times