Billionaire duo preparing to bid on Aston Martin

Posted Thu Oct 19 2006 9:32 PM by Kenneth Hall

Two of Europe's most prominent billionaires, including France's richest man Bernard Arnault, have once again expressed interest over the sale of Aston Martin. Arnault is the current head of Paris-based luxury goods multinational LVMH, which includes the famous Louis Vuitton and Fendi labels, and he’s now partnering with Belgian investor Albert Frère, to form a new investment group. Aston Martin is near the top of the list of possible investments, along with several other major European companies, for the new joint-venture.

It’s questionable that Ford is selling the label when the company is at its strongest position in its entire history. Aston is selling more cars than ever, and has a number of key cars in the pipeline, including the Rapide and the roadster version of its entry-level V8 Vantage that goes on sale in spring next year. Sharing much in common with the coupe, the Roadster comes with a soft-top automatic roof and is built off Aston's aluminium VH platform. Powering the new drop top will be the familiar 380bhp 4.2-litre V8, which should propel the svelte roadster to 62mph from rest in a brief 5 seconds.

If the two billionaires can use their respective companies to help promote Aston Martin among the rich and famous, we expect it to have a very healthy future.

MotorAuthority