► Geely grows stake in Aston Martin
► Chinese brand now owns 17%
► Reflects shift in British brands’ ownership
Geely has doubled its stake in Aston Martin to 17%, representing a sizeable jump in its investment in the ultra-luxury British performance brand.
It represents an important shift in Geely’s portfolio, which already owns a number of British and European car makers, including Lotus, LEVC, Volvo and Polestar. The deal will boost Aston’s reach in China and open up new tech-sharing opportunities.
Parent company Zhejiang Geely Holding Group spent £234 million to increase its stake, making it the third largest shareholder after a consortium led by chairman Lawrence Stroll (below) and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
Geely now owns a larger stake than Mercedes-Benz and will gain a seat on the board. As part of the deal, it pledged it would not increase its holding further until at least August 2024.
Terms of the deal were announced by Aston Martin in a statement to the London Stock Exchange. Geely bought 42 million shares from Stroll’s consortium, and was issued with 28m new shares at 335p each.
Geely chairman Eric Li said: ‘Since first acquiring our minority holding last September, we have worked collaboratively with executive chairman Lawrence Stroll and his colleagues and now look forward to exploring joint technology synergies and new growth opportunities to help this iconic automotive brand to achieve its full potential.’