Saudi Arabia is hoping to buy a stake in British luxury vehicle brand Aston Martin. The Gaydon, England-based organization is keeping funding options open, however has neither affirmed nor denied the possible arrangement, which is esteemed at £200 million ($237.5 million).
Aston Martin, which is James Bond’s #1 carmaker has been on a rough street since it listed on the London Stock Exchange in October 2018. While the launch of its most memorable SUV, the DBX, to some extent checked financial losses in 2020, the pandemic seriously affected the organization, given lower sales and delivery delays.
From 2023 ahead, Aston Martin vows to release new models and more SUVs, including hybrid and electric vehicles. Yet, for that, it needs a money convergence.
The Saudis are offering to buy in through the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund—the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud’s supervision, the PIF’s investments aim to diversify the Saudi economy away from oil and extend soft power abroad.
As of late, the PIF invested enormously in Western organizations including Uber, Tesla, Meta Platforms, Citigroup, Disney and Nintendo. The likely purchasing of Aston Martin shows Saudi Arabia is going on in its climb to being a more legitimate member of the global economic and industrial community.
Very much like its Gulf neighbors, Saudi Arabia is hoping to become a player in the global sports industry, particularly motorsports. In 2021, Jeddah invited its most memorable Formula One race, equaling the Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi and Bahrain. A couple of months later, it began supporting Aston Martin’s F1 group. The realm has hosted the Paris-Dakar desert race beginning around 2020.
But selling off to the Saudis could cause reputational damage to Aston Martin. In 2021, the PIF bought British Premiere League Newcastle United football club in a controversial deal valued at £300 million.
Several nongovernmental organizations and industry experts do not have confidence in Saudi Arabia due to their human rights violations and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Right after the news broke of Aston Martin’s potential acquisition by Saudi Arabia, the carmaker’s share value dropped.
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