Ford Motor Co. announced Monday that it has sold its Aston Martin sports car business to David Richards, John Sinders, Investment Dar and Adeem Investment Co. in a deal valued at $848 million.
Ford will retain a $77 million investment in Aston Martin, valuing the entire company at $925 million, but no other terms of the transaction were disclosed.
In August 2006, Ford had announced that it would explore strategic options for Aston Martin as part of its restructuring plan.
The deal is expected to close in the second quarter.
“The sale of Aston Martin supports the key objectives of the company, to restructure to operate profitably at lower volumes and changed model mix and to speed the development of new products,” said Alan Mulally, Ford’s president and CEO. “From Aston Martin’s point of view, the sale will provide access to additional capital, which will allow Aston Martin to continue the growth it has experienced under Ford’s stewardship.”
David Richards is chairman of Prodrive, a motorsport and automotive technology company; John Sniders is an Aston Martin collector and backer of Aston Martin Racing; and Investment Dar and Adeem Investment Co. are international investment companies based in Kuwait.