The latest word is that only two firms are still interested in buying the shares from Investment Dar: Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra and Italian private equity group Investindustrial.
Sources familiar with the matter have revealed to Reuters that Mahindra has made the higher offer, though talks are ongoing with both parties.
Investindustrial’s offer is said to be around $400 million, but despite being lower it may still win out as the offer is tipped to include a technical partnership with Mercedes-Benz. Some readers may recall that Aston Martin was looking to form an alliance with Mercedes before the 2008 financial crisis hit.
Investindustrial was the previous owner of Ducati, which it sold in April to current owner Audi for $1.13 billion.
Aston Martin has just launched a new flagship, the 2014 Vanquish, and celebrates its centenary next year. It’s doing something nearly unheard of these days: surviving as a mainstream auto brand without the backing of a major parent, though this has come at the cost of significant product and technology updates.
Hopefully, any new owner will bring enough cash for the development of the next-generation of Aston Martins and take the company into its second century on a positive start.
