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Aston Martin Sold
DEARBORN, Mich., March, 12, 2007 – Ford Motor Company [NYSE: F] announced today it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell Aston Martin, its prestigious sports car business, to a consortium comprised of David Richards, John Sinders, Investment Dar and Adeem Investment Co. This transaction is the result of Ford's decision, as announced in August 2006, to explore strategic options for the Aston Martin business as the company restructures its core automotive operations and builds liquidity.

The sale is expected to close during the second quarter and is subject to customary closing conditions, including applicable regulatory approvals. The transaction values Aston Martin at £479 million ($925 million). As part of the transaction, Ford will retain a £40 million ($77 million) investment in Aston Martin. Other terms and conditions specific to the sale are not being disclosed at this time.

"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 chief executive officer. "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. Today's announcement is good for Ford Motor Company, good for Aston Martin and good for the UK. We wish Aston Martin every possible success for the future."

The new owner of Aston Martin is a consortium comprised of: David Richards, founder and chairman of Prodrive, a world-leading motorsport and automotive technology company; John Sinders, an avid Aston Martin collector and a backer of Aston Martin Racing; and Investment Dar and Adeem Investment Co, international investment companies headquartered in Kuwait.

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles in 200 markets across six continents. With more than 280,000 employees and more than 100 plants worldwide, the company’s core and affiliated automotive brands include Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo and Mazda. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. Read Article



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Agent63Agent63 - 3/12/2007 1:11:01 PMView My AgentSpace
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SilverAeroSilverAero - 3/12/2007 1:21:23 PM
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Good for Prodrive, good for consumers, we'll see if it is good for ford but all and all a good deal

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r_driver04r_driver04 - 3/12/2007 2:46:18 PM
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Now, if Ford could just sell Jaguar and Land Rover. They might just be able to eek out of the red zone for a second.

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AMGC55AMGC55 - 3/12/2007 3:36:56 PM
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now prodrive gets to mess with some real nice cars...

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SupraNeverBackSupraNeverBack - 3/12/2007 4:05:54 PM
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The next will be Jaguar Cat, but it will be more difficult to find a buyer.

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AUTO_UNIONAUTO_UNION - 3/12/2007 4:06:40 PM
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I don't get it, why aston, why not jag?

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TheSailorTheSailor - 3/12/2007 6:04:09 PMView My AgentSpace
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Well, if they want to make an Aston Martin F1 team, it is quite a smart move, because they wouldn't be able to use the Jaguar name in F1 since another team (can't remember which one) still has the rights to the Jaguar F1 name (I think). Also by using Aston, they start with a clean slate, instead of Jaguar who might have a long F1 history, but the last years of the Jaguar F1 team wasn't exactly memorable!

Also, is Jaguar even up for sale?!


TheSailorTheSailor - 3/12/2007 4:22:58 PMView My AgentSpace
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WOW... You really have to give Ford that they have LOST ALL BUISNESS SENCE WHATSOEVER!!! What kind of strategy is that to sell the parts that actually makes a profit?!

Good thing for Aston though... It would be really cool if they stuffed the AMV8 with those fancy diffs they had fitted to that concept car that made Jeremy Clarkson sick! Then Porsche can wave goodbye to their number one spot in the 911-class!

And did someone mention an Aston Martin F1 team? Now that would be so cool! It would be my favorite team by default!

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chuck717chuck717 - 3/12/2007 7:09:59 PM
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When do we here Ford joins Chrysler in the graveyard? I can see it now, GM buries the last two US auto Makers then digs it's own grave soon after. This is going to be a nice new century kids, US auto makers out of business and homebuilders going broke with the bust of the industry bound to happen. All this because they thought Americans were dumb and blind, well check that we were, but most now smell the roses, to bad these roses are now made overseas?

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