Indian automaker Mahindra and Mahindra is hoping to close a deal on Aston Martin by the end of this week, having topped a previous offer from Italian private equity firm InvestIndustrial.
Kuwait-based Investment Dar continues to deny that it is considering bids for the British automaker, but sources are saying that bidders are figuring out issues regarding management control if a sale is to take place. It is believed that InvestIndustrial placed a bid around $400 million for Investment Dar’s stake in Aston Martin.
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Many are questioning the logic behind Mahindra’s acquisition of Aston Martin, seeing it as an opportunity to purchase a “trophy” brand that doesn’t serve an immediate benefit to the Indian automaker. Of course an investment of funds would immediately prove beneficial to Aston Martin, a brand that only sold 4,200 vehicles last year.
“It’s difficult to visualize a tractor and an Aston Martin in the same garage,” said Mads Kaiser, a fund manager with JI India Equity Fund. “The acquisition will broaden their portfolio but doesn’t add anything to their tractor or India portfolio.”
[Source: Automotive News]