Aston Martin stock jumps after huge £234m investment

Stocks in Aston Martin jumped by almost a quarter on Thursday after the company announced a £234m investment by China’s Geely.

Geely’s investment in the luxury carmaker is up to 17 percent of the company’s stocks, making the Chinese company Aston Martin’s third largest stakeholder after number one Canadian businessman Lawrence Stroll and number two Saudi Arabia.

The latest round of shares were bought at 335 pence each, raising about £95 million in cash for the British firm.

“This announcement is a further significant step towards delivering our ambition for Aston Martin,” said executive chairman Lawrence Stroll in Thursday’s statement.

“Geely Holding… sees tremendous potential for Aston Martin’s long-term growth and success.

“They offer us a deep understanding of the key strategic growth market that China represents, as well as the opportunity to access their range of technologies and components.”

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Aston Martin, the preferred ride of fictional secret agent James Bond, has gone bankrupt a few times in the past with the last round of heavy financial losses coming in 2019 when the company’s stocks crashed spectacularly.

Loses were compounded by the pandemic before Stroll stepped in in early 2020. The Canadian businessman had already led a consortium to buy the Force India Formula 1 team mid-2018 and named that Racing Point before putting the Aston Martin moniker back on the grid in 2020.

After two difficult seasons as Aston Martin, this season the team is P2 in the Constructors’ Championship having claimed four podiums in five races with Spanish driver Fernando Alonso.