Yahoo Finance Lawrence Stroll sells off £117m Aston Martin stake after Chinese investment
Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll has sold £117m of shares in Aston Martin as a major Chinese investor tightens its control over the luxury sports car maker.
Yew Tree, Mr Stroll’s investment vehicle, last week sold 35m shares in the company to help fund a deal that saw Chinese car giant Geely more than double its holding.
Geely, which owns Volvo, invested around £234m to increase its stake to 17pc earlier this month, making it the third-largest shareholder and fuelling speculation about a looming takeover bid.
Mr Stroll, who is Aston’s executive chairman, remains the largest shareholder, though his consortium’s stake has been reduced to 21pc from 28pc. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is the second largest investor.
Overall, the deal will see Geely acquire roughly 42m shares from Yew Tree, while Aston Martin will raise £95m through the creation of 28m new shares.
Michael de Picciotto, a non-executive director, also sold off shares worth £7.8m as part of the deal.
The share sales come amid growing signs that Geely could mount a takeover offer for Aston Martin, with chief executive Daniel Li hinting that a deal could help the British car maker to increase sales in China.
Geely has attempted to take control of Aston Martin several times in the past, including a failed attempt in 2020 when Mr Stroll took control.
It first took a 7.6pc stake last year when the company launched a £653m capital raise last summer in a bid to pay down debt and shore up its future.
The latest stake-building also gives Geely the right to appoint a non-executive director to the board, though it is blocked from raising its holding to above 22pc until August 2024.
In addition to Volvo, Geely also owns Lotus in the UK and half of Mercedes’ Smart brand. It also owns the London Electric Vehicle Company, which produces electrified black cabs.
In a statement earlier this month, Mr Stroll said Geely offered a “deep understanding of the key strategic growth market that China represents, as well as the opportunity to access their range of technologies and components”.
He added: “Geely share our vision for Aston Martin and want to be a more significant shareholder.”
Eric Li, chairman of Geely Holding Group, said: “Our decision to increase our shareholding in Aston Martin reflects our confidence in the company’s growth prospects, its technologies and its management team.”
Shares in Aston Martin slipped 1.8pc on Monday.
