March 16, 2007 Aston Martin: Ford Sale, Return to UK Rule Britannia! Possibly, one of the most "quintessentially British" (Sky News, 9/3), most "iconic" (monsters&critics.com, 12/3) and frankly one of the "coolest" (DeHavilland, 12/3) brands came home this week. This, made possible, with some hefty foreign private equity backing from the US and Kuwait. But, even among the non-UK backers, support was enthusiatic. "The dream for me was to own an Aston Martin, never to own part of the company. It's
a dream come true," (John Sinders, US banker, Guardian, 9/3).
Even the unions were sangfroid, the Transport & General Workers Union welcomed the comitment to British engineering and jobs, "and was willing to overlook its concerns about private equity" (Guardian, 9/3). An interesting development given some very public union disapproval of private equity group Premira in recent weeks. So, where was the sting in the tail? Not even from cash-strapped Ford, who apparently accepted almost half the orginal asking price, but retained a minority, yet significant, stake in the business. On announcing the deal, Ford said: "Today´s announcement is good for Ford Motor Company, good for Aston Martin and good for the UK" (MotorTorque.co.uk,12/3). Win-win-win. Ulrich Bez, continuing as CEO, purred: "This next stage in the company's history promises to be the most exciting yet" (Classic Driver, 12/3). |
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