Aston Martin may be about to follow in the footsteps of Ferrari and launch an initial public offering.
People familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that a decision hasn’t been made and that Aston Martin is waiting for its 2017 financial results before proceeding further.
Should the go-ahead be given by the current owners, the sports car marque could end up listed on a stock exchange in London as early as next year. Aston Martin is currently owned by Italy’s Investindustrial and Kuwait’s Adeem Investment and Investment Dar.
The move would follow Ferrari’s IPO in late 2015. The Italian firm listed with a share price of $52, valuing it at the time at approximately $9.8 billion.
Site of Aston Martin plant in St Athan, Wales
A spokesperson for Investindustrial said there were no plans for an IPO but admitted banks had approached the company to “pitch ideas.”
Consistently suffering from cash shortages, Aston Martin is no stranger to IPO talk. In fact, Aston Martin as early as 2008 has beein in the headlines over a potential IPO deal.
Current CEO Andy Palmer has an ambitious plan to build a second factory and expand the lineup to seven distinct cars including sedans and an SUV. Palmer also wants to introduce electric powertrains to the brand, adding to the costly development bill.
So far Aston Martin has relied on funding from its owners as well as the issuance of bonds, the most recent being in March.
