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Aston Martin owners rev up for possible sale or stock IPO

LONDON — Aston Martin's owners have hired financial advisory firm Lazard to prepare for a stock market listing or sale of the British sports car maker made famous by fictional spy James Bond, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Italian private equity fund Investindustrial and a group of Kuwaiti investors, who together own more than 90 percent of the marque, are hoping to cash in on a recovery in sales and are in the initial stages of a strategic review. They have hired investment bank Lazard to work on a preliminary plan and could either opt for an initial public offering (IPO) in the third or fourth quarter of 2018 or a trade sale, two of the sources said on Friday. A deal could value the maker of the sports car driven by Britain's Prince William on his wedding day at between 2 billion and 3 billion pounds ($4 billion), one of the sources said, adding a listing was the most likely option. However, no final decision had been taken and the investors could decide to retain control, the sources added. Investindustrial declined to comment while Aston Martin and Lazard did not return requests for comment. Adeem Investment, one of the Kuwaiti investors, was not immediately available. If successful, a float of Aston Martin would be a milestone deal for the 104-year-old car manufacturer and would follow the IPO of Italian sportscar maker Ferrari which made its Wall Street debut in 2015 amid strong investor demand. Investindustrial, led by founder Andrea Bonomi, bought 37.5 percent of Aston Martin in 2012 in what was the fund's best-known investment in Britain. The fund, which has clinched a number of Southern European investments since its launch in 1990, is Aston Martin's single biggest investor and is driving the plans, the sources said. Beside Lazard, other investment banks have approached the private equity fund in recent weeks offering advice ahead of a possible IPO, another source said. Yet no other mandates will be awarded this year for the Gaydon-based firm, which is in the midst of a turnaround plan that aims to restore the business to profitability following six years of losses. Aston Martin, which recently unveiled its new Vantage model, is on course to post its first annual pre-tax profit since 2010 as strong demand for the luxury automaker's DB11 sports car boosts its performance.

Aston Martin to turn an air force base into a factory to build DBX crossover

To build its upcoming DBX luxury SUV, Aston Martin needs a new factory. A year ago, the British manufacturer announced having chosen the site of St. Athan in South Wales, and the former Royal Air Force base has now been officially handed over to Aston Martin. It's a part of a growth plan outlined by the carmaker, and the site was chosen from 20 potential ones all over the world, to accompany the existing manufacturing facility in Gaydon, Warwickshire. The two factories will create 1,000 new jobs by 2020, and Aston Martin will boost employment in Wales with a further 3,000 jobs across its supply chain and local businesses related to car manufacturing. The three hangars of the location will be converted into a car factory by 2019. The former military site was formally handed over from the British Ministry of Defence to Aston Martin by Secretary of State Sir Michael Fallon at a ceremony today, including Aston Martin President and CEO Dr. Andy Palmer, and Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Cairns and Welsh First Minister, Carwyn Jones. It's been a special day in Wales as conversion of #AstonMartinStAthan starts ahead of DBX production in 2019: https://t.co/9e6nqQiob4 pic.twitter.com/K6v3D3TPJd — Aston Martin (@astonmartin) April 6, 2017 "Due to its sheer size and scale, the St Athan Super Hangars represented an excellent opportunity for us to build our second manufacturing facility, within the envelope of an existing structure. It is perhaps fitting that St Athan is, like our headquarters and sports car factory at Gaydon, a former Royal Air Force base", says Andy Palmer. Related Video:

Aston Martin DBX spied looking like a finished product

The Aston Martin DBX is inching closer to its December reveal, and today we get to see the SUV in its most finished form yet. One of our spy shooters managed to catch a DBX out and about with production headlights, taillights, door handles and rear fascia. It’s great to see the DBX like this, because until now weÂ’ve only seen it in the mule-like form that Aston wanted us to see. Taking a look at the rear end is where things really start coming together. Instead of the odd, pod-like taillights, some slick and thin light fixtures extend from the ducktail spoiler into the rear fender. They look proper on the rear end of the SUV. Just a bit below these are the two exhaust outlets. ThereÂ’s still plenty of camouflage about, but the exhaust tips and molding around it appears to be production-spec. ItÂ’s interesting to see the exhaust so high up on the rear bumper in an SUV, and they also stick out a fair amount. Just watch for the flaming hot tips when loading and unloading items directly after driving it. We also gain a better understanding of what the grille is going to look like up front. Instead of the wire mesh weÂ’ve been looking at before, this maw has actual slats and a defined shape. The headlights look like production units, and there are cutouts for possible foglights down there, too. Instead of the unfinished rear door handles, Aston appears to have installed the electric pop-out units weÂ’ve been seeing in the front for awhile. There are more creases and muscular lines visible all over the vehicle that were covered up previously, too. As September quickly approaches, the DBXÂ’s reveal in December isnÂ’t that far out anymore. A few more months will pass, and then the first Aston Martin SUV will be out. There will be plenty of Mercedes-Benz part sharing, but weÂ’re still excited to see what an Aston SUV ends up like