Ford’s Disposal of Aston Martin Now Complete

Aston Martin is the sleek sports car popular for starring in the action block buster James Bond franchise. The sexy silvery gray Aston Martin DBS for instance, was the James Bond car in the 2006 movie, Casino Royale. Although Aston Martin wowed all of us being James Bond’s car, it didn’t hit the blockbuster in the car market like the movie did. In August 2006, Bill Ford, who handed the reins over to Mulally last year, put Aston Martin up for sale, saying the money-losing brand may be "an attractive opportunity to raise capital and generate value."

Ford Motor Company succeeded in selling the Aston Martin Division last March, when the deal was made to a consortium of big time investors lead by racing executive Dave Richards. The group also included John Sinders, a famous Aston Martin collector and two other Kuwaiti firms of Investment Dar and Adeem Investment Co.

"The deal gets Ford liquidity it desperately needs to help restore its higher-volume product lines, and it leaves Aston Martin in good hands, as well." Dave Healy, an analyst at Burnham Securities was quoted as saying before the Dearborn automaker put its luxury brand up for sale.

In a statement before the sale, Ford CEO and President Allan Mullaly said, "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,"

Ford announced in March that it would receive $848 million and retain a $77 million stake in Aston Martin.

The transaction of the maker of the Aston Martin catalytic converter was completed in the second quarter of this year. Becky Sanch, Ford spokeswoman confirmed that they have not completely given away the sports car division because the automaker retained a stake by receiving preferred stock from Primrose Cove Ltd., the holding company of the group that acquired Aston Martin. On Tuesday Ford received $931 million in cash and preferred stock for its sale of a controlling stake in the popular luxury brand.

Ford’s Jaguar and Rover divisions, also part of the Ford Premier Auto Group are also being prepared for disposal as Ford continues on its plan to bounce back from its recent financial troubles.

About the Author

Evander Klum is a Business Administration graduate who hails from Alabama. He enjoys extreme sports and he is also a car racing fanatic. At present, he works as a marketing manager at an advertising agency in Cleveland.

Source: Articlesbase.com