After getting a 7.6% stake in Aston Martin Lagonda Last September, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (Geely Holding) today announced it had increased its stake in the British carmaker to 17% as part of a new relationship agreement. According to the London Stock Exchange, the Chinese company spent £234 million (about RM1.3 billion) to raise its stake.
With this deal, Geely Holding is now the third largest shareholder of Aston Martin Lagonda after Lawrence Stroll and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. Geely Holding now has a larger stake than Mercedes-Benz, which currently owns 12%, although The German automaker plans to increase this level up to 20% by the end of 2023.
Under the new agreement, Geely won’t be allowed to increase its stake until August 2024, but it can now designate a non-executive director as a shareholder representative as well as a second as an observer.
“Our decision to increase our stake in Aston Martin reflects our confidence in the company’s growth prospects, technology and management team. Since our first acquisition of minority shares last September (2022), we have worked collaboratively with executive chairman Lawrence Stroll and his colleagues and now look forward to exploring explore joint technology synergies as well as new development opportunities to help this iconic automotive brand reach its full potential,” said Eric Li, president of Geely Holding.
“This announcement is an even more important step towards realizing our ambitions for Aston Martin. Geely Holding, who initially became a shareholder last year, sees huge potential for Aston Martin’s growth and long-term success,” said Lawrence Stroll, executive chairman of the board at Aston Martin Lagonda , comment.
“Geely can provide us with an in-depth understanding of China’s strategically important growth market and the opportunity to access a wide range of their technologies. Geely shares our vision for Aston Martin and wants to be a more significant shareholder. This transaction enables the creation of a long-term partnership with Geely – a relationship that I believe will deliver very significant value to all of our shareholders over time,” he added.
