Exclusive: Aston Martin owners rev up for 2018 exit with
Lazard hire
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 [December 16, 2017]
By Pamela Barbaglia and Ben Martin
LONDON (Reuters) - Aston Martin's owners
have hired Lazard to prepare for a stock market listing or sale of the
British sportscar 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 sportscar driven by Britain's Prince
William on his wedding day at between 2 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 <RACE.MI> 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.
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Britain's Prince William and his wife Catherine, Duchess of
Cambridge drive from Buckingham Palace in an Aston Martin DB6 Mark
2, after their wedding in Westminster Abbey, in central London April
29, 2011. REUTERS/John Stillwell/Pool/File Photo
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 boss Andy Palmer has repeatedly said that the decision and timing
of an IPO were matters for the shareholders but that it made sense for them to
consider the option before the end of the company's turnaround plan, which is
due to be completed in 2022.
Since Palmer's appointment in 2014, the firm has pursued a recovery strategy
designed to boost its model line-up, quadruple volumes and produce its first SUV
at a new plant in Wales.
Its volumes rose by 65 percent to 3,330 cars in the first nine months of the
year, prompting the firm to raise its full-year guidance to expect core earnings
of at least 180 million pounds on revenue of more than 840 million pounds.
($1 = 0.7509 pounds)
(Editing by Alexander Smith)
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