(Bloomberg) — The sovereign wealth fund behind McLaren is seeking to rope in new investors to help fund the British luxury carmaker’s growth, people with knowledge of the matter said.
McLaren’s controlling shareholder, Bahrain’s Mumtalakat Holding Co., has been considering bringing in additional investors who can provide capital and technological expertise, the people said. It’s seeking funds to help develop McLaren’s technology and bring it into new markets, according to the people.
They have approached potential investors including Chinese carmakers, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.
Deliberations are at an early stage, and there’s no certainty they will lead to a deal. Representatives for McLaren and Mumtalakat declined to comment.
Founded in 1963 by racer Bruce McLaren, the namesake firm makes the Artura sports car and produced around 2,500 vehicles in 2022. McLaren also owns a Formula One team that could pique the interest of potential investors.
Cash-strapped McLaren has had to tap investors for cash on multiple occasions and sold some of its heritage car collection to Mumtalakat in 2022. Late last year, its shareholders backed a full recapitalization and pledged to introduce a simpler share structure and help the automaker expand into new markets.
McLaren’s main automotive arm had about £55 million ($69 million) of cash and undrawn liquidity lines as of the end of September 2023, according to its website. It has about £517 million of net debt.
–With assistance from Matthew Martin and Linda Lew.
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