McLaren Automotive is set to be sold to Abu Dhabi-based CYVN Holdings, with the promise of fresh cash injection for the British sports car maker.
Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund, Mumtalakat, which in April took full ownership of the McLaren Group (parent of the car firm and McLaren Racing), announced earlier today it has signed a non-binding agreement with the 'specialist investment vehicle'.
This, the two firms said in a joint statement, was to “explore a potential partnership”. The deal would also include a non-controlling stake in the McLaren Group.
The statement added: “This transformative investment by CYVN Holdings would bring access to additional capital, advanced engineering expertise and pioneering technology, particularly in the field of electric vehicles.” The brand's first fully-fledged EV, an SUV, is tipped to arrive in 2028.
Mumtalakat said the deal would also help to “deliver sustainable long-term financial returns” for the car maker.
McLaren wouldn't be the first car company that CYVN has invested in: it already holds stakes in Gordon Murray Technologies, British start-up Forseven and Chinese EV specialist Nio.
The statement even alluded that these firms could “bring potential synergies to complement and enhance McLaren’s product strategy”.
This is the latest roll of the dice by the firm to boost its finances in the post-Covid era.
The Group has struggled to recover since the pandemic blew a hole in its finances, resulting in the firm undertaking an “urgent” round of refinancing in mid-2020 as creditors circulated. Some 1200 jobs were also shed as part of rigorous cost cutting.
Since then, it has been has been reliant on support from Mumtalakat - which held a 60% share in the Group until its full takeover in April – and other shareholders.
The latest injection came in November last year when £450 million was raised by several, unnamed, shareholders.
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