Mahindra, Aston deal off?

Mahindra & Mahindra seems to have all but pulled out of the race to buy a stake in luxury sports car brand Aston Martin.

 

Aston Martin’s long list of debts and the fact that only a capital injection was being sought have apparently caused the Mahindras to lose interest. Kuwait-based company, The Investment Dar, which is the half owner of Aston Martin, is also undergoing financial problems, which could lead to further instabilities.

 

Earlier, both Indian conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra and Italian buyout firm Investindustrial were reported to be vying to invest in Aston, with the former offering a significantly greater cash injection and the latter offering less financial support but a technical partnership with Mercedes and AMG.

 

Earlier, Investindustrial were favourites to secure the £250m (Rs 2,189.3 cr) deal, but M&M then moved ahead in negotiations and became the favoured partner. That would have meant that M&M would have owned 40 percent of the company and had 50 percent of the voting rights.