Monday 6th November 2006

Ford finds bidders for Aston Martin

Plenty of interest in the iconic marque

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Aston Martin for sale

There are now about 30 bidders for Aston Martin, according to one story this morning. The timetable for sale means that information memorandums have been sent to those who registered serious interest in the proposition. The aim is to secure initial bids by the start of December, and to finalise the sale of the iconic marque by sprint 2007.

As well as Jac Nasser, once Ford's boss and now a partner at JP Morgan's investment arm, interested parties are understood to include the US buy-out company Texas Pacific group, plus rich individuals and trade buyers in the Middle East.

Europeans are interested too, including the man who owns fashionable brands Louis Vuitton and Fendi, Bernard Arnault, along with his business partner Albert Frère. Both are billionaires.

The sale of Aston Martin, which Ford could sell far more profitably as a brand than just as a carmaker, follows a succession of poor financial results for the Blue Oval, though not for Aston Martin, which is now in the black. But estimates of the price AM might fetch vary wildly. Ford once mooted a price of $1 billion or more although analysts place it closer to $500 million.

Ideally of course, it would go to a British buyer -- but that doesn't seem to be an option...

• PistonHeads: Ford flooded with Aston buyers

[scotty_917]

looks as though AM is going to be purchased for the use of it's brand name...I can see it now; under developed & lacking in engineering...trying to rely on the goodwill of it's customers to keep it up! shades of the past to return, I hope not.

[richards 7]

Christ....just a brand.........keep the engineering, just now producing some fab pieces of kit, don't let that go to waste please. The thought of beckham with an AM bag, t shirt.......Noooooooooo.

[scoobiewrx]

What is it with Ford. One minute it's going to be sold, then it isn't and now it is again. Is there a Rich Brit out there that will buy AM, and.... where is Richard Branson when you need him...Cmon Dickie!!!

[Dr S]

scoobiewrx said:

What is it with Ford. One minute it's going to be sold, then it isn't and now it is again. Is there a Rich Brit out there that will buy AM, and.... where is Richard Branson when you need him...Cmon Dickie!!!

Beware, the cars might then be called "Virgin Martin"...

[john_r]

Don't be concerned, some investment company will come along, snap it up and invest millions in developing new cars and engines. Oh shit, sorry I was thinking about what the Rover investors said they would do...

[errek72]

Wasn't there a Group C Aston with red Virgin livery?
Precedent has been set!

[RR-eng]

scoobiewrx said:

What is it with Ford. One minute it's going to be sold, then it isn't and now it is again. Is there a Rich Brit out there that will buy AM, and.... where is Richard Branson when you need him...Cmon Dickie!!!

Richard Brandson would be pretty much the worst possible boss for Aston Martin or any other car company, I also suspect that he would have a great problem in finding £500-1000 million without selling somethig else and the city doesn't trust him so he would find it hard to get a loan.

Richard Branson has ten secrets to success:

• You've got to challenge the big ones.
• Keep it casual.
• Haggle: everything is negotiable.
• Have fun working.
• Do the right things for the brand.
• Smile for the cameras!
• Don't lead ‘sheep', herd ‘cats'.
• Move like a bullet.
• Size does matter.
• Be a common, regular person.

[scoobiewrx]

RR-eng said:

scoobiewrx said:

What is it with Ford. One minute it's going to be sold, then it isn't and now it is again. Is there a Rich Brit out there that will buy AM, and.... where is Richard Branson when you need him...Cmon Dickie!!!

Richard Brandson would be pretty much the worst possible boss for Aston Martin or any other car company, I also suspect that he would have a great problem in finding £500-1000 million without selling somethig else and the city doesn't trust him so he would find it hard to get a loan.

Richard Branson has ten secrets to success:

• You've got to challenge the big ones.
• Keep it casual.
• Haggle: everything is negotiable.
• Have fun working.
• Do the right things for the brand.
• Smile for the cameras!
• Don't lead ‘sheep', herd ‘cats'.
• Move like a bullet.
• Size does matter.
• Be a common, regular person.

I run my own business and to the following....

• You've got to challenge the big ones. (I always do)
• Keep it casual. (I try to and it works)
• Haggle: everything is negotiable. (Absolutely!!)
• Have fun working. (Everyday, ask the Mrs )
• Do the right things for the brand. (Always)
• Smile for the cameras! (I'm too fugly for that)
• Don't lead ‘sheep', herd ‘cats'. (I deal with lots of cool cats)
• Move like a bullet. (Not generally after dinner)
• Size does matter. (No it doesn't, ask the Mrs )
• Be a common, regular person. (As Muck!!)

All the above applies.... so how come i'm not a billionaire yet

[kurtiejjj]

Oh I do hope these damn investment companys stay out of this! sell it to someone who has a passion for cars and will not sell it immediately when it's doing not so well!

[E38]

I think we all know whats going to happen

££££££ Makers



AM

[markbe]

Don't get carried away all,the new owners are quite likly to be;

Kia Aston Martin


Mark

[turbobungle]

Bye bye Aston . What was it like being in the black for a few months in your (modern) history? I don't understand how selling a profitable company at around half a billion can possibly help a company losing a billion every month!

I just hope some jumped up teenage russian billionaire don't think it'll be a good idea to buy himself a plaything!

www.turbobungle.com

[mybrainhurts]

What? No interest from China...?

Raston Rartin just rolls off the tongue, don't you think..?

[Road_Terrorist]

scoobiewrx said:

All the above applies.... so how come i'm not a billionaire yet

You forgot the essential ingrediant, a beard.

[mc_blue]

BMW would be the perfect candidate but they don't seem to be interested.

[scoobiewrx]

Road_Terrorist said:

scoobiewrx said:

All the above applies.... so how come i'm not a billionaire yet

You forgot the essential ingrediant, a beard.

Damn it!! I knew it was something simple. No beard....No billions.
Does a hairy ar5e count?

[the dodger]

Hmmm. Read today that VW may also be putting in a bid for Chrysler as DC wants rid of it. They could clean up in this segment with Bentley, Bugati etc..

Personally I'd like to see ex-Ford Martin Leach get it. He could use his out of court settlement from the Blue Oval and call it a leaving present.



ps - nice typo in the text if you're a TVRCC Sprint reader!

[yellabelly]

Anyone of the 30 interested parties fancy giving the little russian his pocket money back and investing in a really worthy cause?
There are 250 or so hardworking, dedicated but leaderless people in Blackpool who would love the chance to keep TVR alive and British!!!
YP

[spidydude]

If Aston is bought by some japanese car company like Honda or Toyota..."Aston" is gonna' come out with some as* ugly, monsterous, horrid, "car" (if you can call it that). To display it's "new look" as part of a Japanese company...ugh I'm from the states and I still want Aston to be brittish.
OR
Could you imagine some company buying it and making it like Mitsubishi? Where it's not a car company it's just a brand name...it'd be like...some "premium" line of horrible coffee makers or hair accessories. O.o

[Drgp]

Mm. Umm. has anyone ever seen a reliable Aston?
I know they are pretty and James Bond drives one, but....they are not actually very good.

There.

I've said it.

OK, they are mostly pretty now, but DB9 is soooo similar to the Jag XK, as was the DB7 and pretty damn uncomfortable too. Vanquish is desirable, but lets face it, a bit niche.

How do you decouple the firm from Jag? Aston never made any money. The cars were all rolling prototypes and they never made two the same. Ford brought in the cash and the line up is nice now as it benefits from Jag's R&D but still suffers from reliability issues and some questionable switch gear in a car of that price.

Its a great brand, but I am not sure its a great investment.