Aston Martin has no time to die and is saved by Mercedes

Ka time to die? For the James Bond film of this title, the crown crisis was the absolute stopper of the show. No stopping for Aston Martin. The British carmaker, which has supplied 007 company cars since the 1960s, must live on. It may have a different effect on the stock market, as Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings plc (AML )’s price plunged from £ 19 (1900p) to just 31p this May since it went public two years ago.

The aura of the legendary sports car brand is still great enough that investors of various kinds are keeping the manufacturer alive, with money and even with technology. The rescue of the British should come from Stuttgart in the future. Mercedes offers Aston Martin access to promising technologies. We talk about engines and transmissions, software and electrical architecture. As soon as the news, which was reported in a partial FAZ issue on Tuesday, went public, Aston Martin’s share price rose 30%.

Both producers are old friends. A collaboration has existed since 2013 and Tobias Moers only took over the management of Aston Martin in the early summer, the manager who, as a longtime AMG boss, was able to transform almost every Mercedes model into a slim sports car. As a result, the AMG sub-brand has progressed to become a major profit maker for the Stuttgart-based manufacturer and is now a cornerstone of the future strategy of Daimler CEO Ola Källenius, who was once the head of AMG himself.

The first agreements have already been made

With the delivery of components and technology to the 007 brand, Mercedes is expanding its sales base, as Daimler writes to explain the deal. Payment is made in shares, neither in sterling nor in euros. The cooperation was already backed by equities, so the original 5% Daimler gave seven years ago was reduced to 2.6% due to the IPO and is no longer worth on the stock exchange.

Within three years, Mercedes-Benz AG will acquire up to 20% of Aston Martin by issuing new shares. In a statement, Daimler estimates the value of the entire package at 286 million pounds, or the equivalent of 315 million euros. For a first tranche, with which Mercedes would obtain an 11.8 percent share package, specific agreements and prices for components and systems have already been signed. For Daimler shareholders, the effects of this collaboration are not yet positive, at least at first glance. On a trading day that was already black due to the latest crown lockdown plans, the Daimler share lost enormously in value.

Currently miles away from reality

For Aston-Martin, things are different. Lawrence Stroll spoke of a breakthrough, seeing a “world-class luxury car maker” and a profitable future for the British partner. The Canadian billionaire and Formula 1 tycoon led a rescue operation for Aston Martin with a consortium of investors months ago and sees the deal with Mercedes as a decisive opportunity to realize his growth plans.

In the financial year 2024/2025, Aston Martin expects to sell around 10,000 cars and generate an operating profit (EBITDA) of around £ 500 million. Currently, these plans are far from reality. Last year Aston Martin posted a pre-tax loss of over £ 100 million on a turnover of £ 1 billion. In the third quarter of 2020, which Aston Martin reported at the same time as the Mercedes collaboration, the operating result (Ebitda) was even negative at 29 million pounds with a turnover of 124 million pounds.

When German racing driver Sebastian Vettel races in Formula 1 for the Aston Martin team (formerly Racing Point) next year, it will only have something to do with the British carmaker: the racing team has only the same investors as Lawrence. top.