Aston Martin, a brand synonymous with the James Bond franchise, is facing financial trouble, and it looks like Saudi Arabia is offering a helping hand.
According to business publication, Financial Times, sources stated that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is in early talks with the famed car-making company, Aston Martin, to acquire a $245 Million stake in the company.
The report also states that Aston Martin is going through several financial issues, including a $1.16 billion net debt as of the end of March, with an additional $158 million in debt interest during 2022.
Why Do They Need The Money?
The sources also claim that the funds are part of Aston Martin trying to build up some capital to pay off parts of its debts and use the money to work on future projects, which include their next generation of sports cars and a new electric vehicle in 2023.
This Doesn’t Add Up
Strangely, these discussions aren’t consistent with what Aston Martin’s executive chairman, Lawrence Stroll, said earlier this year when he stated that the company didn’t need money and that the car sales were going well.
“We don’t need any more money at all. Let me be crystal clear, black and white: we do not need money, and car sales are on track,” Stroll told the Financial Times in February 2022.
At the time, Stroll also commented that production on their Valkyrie hypercars had started and that the company resolved early issues, which seems to be the case. However, the cars are being made to order instead of wholesale and sent to distributors.
“Everything has been resolved, but they’re taking a little longer to build because we want them perfect. We have a complexity issue in building the car. We overestimated the amount of cars we could build until we started building,” Stroll told the Financial Times.
How Is Aston Martin Doing On The Stock Market?
According to the London Stock Exchange, Aston Martin isn’t doing so well, as the company’s value has declined to $680.5 million, with its stocks losing almost 8% at the end of June.
This current market value is a far cry from the company’s last couple of years, as it closed in 2021 worth $2.12 billion, and in 2020, it closed the year at $3.14 billion.
According to Companies Market Cap, Aston Martin currently stands at $620 million, making 2022 the company’s worst year so far.
Aston Martin’s Connection To The Region
In February, Aston Martin’s Cognizant F1 team and Saudi Arabia’s oil company, Aramco, signed and announced a “long-term strategic partnership.”
With this agreement in place, the two companies will be collaborating to work on efficient internal combustion engines, advanced lubricants, and high-performance sustainable fuels.
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