08 June 2023
After Geely’s recent investment, Lawrence Stroll sells £117m of his Aston Martin stake.
In 2020, Geely attempted an unsuccessful bid to take over Aston Martin.
Mr Stroll’s consortium, Yew Tree, has sold 42 million shares to the Chinese car maker Geely, meaning Yew Tree has reduced its stake from 28% to 21%, meaning they are still the majority shareholder.
Geely acquired a 7.6% stake in Aston Martin in September 2022.
In 2020, Atlas Consortium, which Geely and Investindustrial led, lost its £1.3 billion last takeover bid when Stroll became the business’s majority shareholder and executive chairman.
Geely now holds 17.2%, making them the third largest shareholder, with Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund in second place.
Geely owns Lotus, Volvo Cars, Polestar, the London Electric Vehicle Company (famous for the Black Cab) and an interest in Smart.
Daniel Li, CEO of Geely, is promoting the benefits of a deal with Aston that would help boost sales in China.
That, coupled with the financial improvements that Aston has recently reported, has prompted speculation that a second takeover bid may be in the offing.
Watch this space.
