Aston Martin: pløjning på, uanset

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Traktor kaffefaciliteter Mahindra og Mahindra er favorit til at købe et 50 pct. af aktierne i Aston Martin, men hvad vil aftalen betyde for Gaydon producent?Rapporter i går aftes fra Reuters tyder på, at Indiske kommercielt køretøj og traktor kaffefaciliteter Mahindra og Mahindra kan vinde kapløbet om at købe 50 pct. af aktierne i Aston Martin ved udgangen af uge. Dette potentiale aftale er årsag til megen morskab i de finansielle kredse. Hvad ville en traktor kaffefaciliteter vil med en mindre superbil kaffefaciliteter?
Der er en dejlig cirkularitet om Mahindra deal, som er ved at blive gjort opmærksom på. Aston Martins efterkrigstidens ejeren David Brown (der købte virksomheden i 1948) gjort hans penge i at designe traktorer. Ferruccio Lamborghini startede i traktoren fremstillingsindustrien i 1948 og startede sin superbil company i 1963. Ferdinand Porsche også designet en række traktorer i 1930 ' erne, sammen med sit arbejde, udvikle folks bil.
Ifølge Reuters kilde, kunne Mahindra handlen se så meget som 250 m udveksles for en 50 pct af aktierne i selskabet. Mens Aston krænges 72m i overskud på omkring 4200 salg sidste gang omkring, det er klart, at det ikke kan gå evigt tweaking VH platform og elegant re cykling temaet styling etableret med 2003 DB9, især med nye forurening, emissioner og sikkerhedslove på vej.
Sådan en lille omsætning og forholdsvis lave overskud - og stadigt stigende lovgivningsmæssige barrierer, der gør det umuligt at enten tage en helt ny drejning eller udvide sortimentet til en stærkt voksende segment, såsom luksus Suv ' er. Aston virkelig brug for den varme omfavnelse af en global bilproducent.
Sund fornuft ville diktere at Tata fejer Aston op og fletter det ind i sin Jaguar division. Aston fabrik og HQ er nabo til JLRs Gaydon R & D Center. At have to tilstødende britiske sports bil beslutningstagere at gøre – i et lille antal – aluminium platformed, front-motor, højtydende coupéer og for at bruge forskellige arkitekturer og motorer er almindeligt dumt.
Men Tata ikke har afgivet et bud. Andre rapporterede tilbuddet var fra italienske investeringer hus Investindustrial, der blev opkøbt og solgt på Ducati til Audi, tredoble sin oprindelige investering. Pressen foreslog at Investindustrial kunne have bragt Mercedess semi-uafhængig AMG division ombord. Det ville have gjort forstand.
Det bekymrer mig om Mahindra bud er at det ikke synes at have nogen teknologiske partnere til at bringe til operationen. Sikker på det er ejer sydkoreanske maker Ssangyong, men maker Korando SUV og bizarre Rodius MPV er usandsynligt, at kunne hjælpe Aston meget. Og vice versa.
Den umiddelbare store spørgsmål vil være, hvor meget af den berygtede 250m Mahindra bud vil gå ind i produktudvikling og hvor meget vil gå tilbage til investeringsfondene investeringer Dar og Adeem investeringer. Jeg har ingen tvivl om at Mahindra vil også nødt til at tilbringe en betydelig mængde af penge over de næste par år på Aston, men til hvad nytte?
En analytiker ven først fik nys om denne deal i September og fortalte mig, at nogle lyse gnist havde kigget ind i Aston og regnede 4500 årlige salg eller så var om den globale grænse for marque. En pludselig udvidelse og overskud eksplosion er usandsynligt.
Aston er en mærkelig sag. Det er kendt i hele verden og får stor omtale med hver ny Bond-film, men det synes at have en naturlig størrelse som producent af højtydende road biler. Medmindre en etableret store carmaker er involveret i denne aftale at omdanne Astons produktsortiment, jeg bare ikke kan se værdien i det-prestige til side – for en ny investor.

Tractor maker Mahindra and Mahindra is favourite to purchase a 50 per cent stake in Aston Martin, but what would the deal mean for the Gaydon manufacturer?Reports yesterday evening from Reuters suggest that Indian commercial vehicle and tractor maker Mahindra and Mahindra may win the race to buy a 50 per cent stake in Aston Martin by the end of the week. This potential deal is causing much amusement in financial circles. What would a tractor maker want with a smaller supercar maker?
There is a lovely circularity about the Mahindra deal, as is being pointed out. Aston Martins post-war owner David Brown (who bought the company in 1948) made his money in designing tractors. Ferruccio Lamborghini started in tractor manufacturing in 1948 and started his supercar company in 1963. Ferdinand Porsche also designed a range of tractors in the 1930s, alongside his work developing the Peoples Car.
According to the Reuters source, the Mahindra deal could see as much as 250m being exchanged for a 50 per cent stake in the company. While Aston banked 72m in profits on around 4200 sales last time around, it is clear that it cannot go on forever tweaking the VH platform and elegantly re-cycling the styling theme established with the 2003 DB9, especially with new pollution, emissions and safety laws on the way.
Such a small turnover and comparatively low profits – and ever-increasing legislative barriers – make it impossible to either take a radically new turn or expand the range into a booming segment such as luxury SUVs. Aston really needs the warm embrace of a global carmaker.
Common sense would dictate that Tata sweeps Aston up and merges it into its Jaguar division. The Aston factory and HQ is next door to JLRs Gaydon R&D centre. To have two neighbouring British sports car makers making – in small numbers – aluminium platformed, front-engined, high-performance coupes and to be using different architectures and motors is plain stupid.
But Tata hasnt made a bid. The other reported bid was from Italian investment house Investindustrial, who successfully bought up and sold on Ducati to Audi, tripling its initial investment. Press reports suggested that Investindustrial could have brought Mercedess semi-independent AMG division onboard. That would have made sense.
What worries me about the Mahindra bid is that it doesnt seem to have any technology partners to bring to the operation. Sure it does own South Korean maker Ssangyong, but the maker of the Korando SUV and bizarre Rodius MPV is unlikely to be able to help Aston much. And vice versa.
The immediate big question will be how much of the rumoured 250m Mahindra bid will go into product development and how much will go back to the investment funds Investment Dar and Adeem Investment. I have no doubt that Mahindra will also need to spend a significant amount of money over the next few years on Aston, but to what end?
An analyst friend first got wind of this deal in September and told me that some bright spark had looked into Aston and figured 4500 annual sales or so was about the global limit for the marque. A sudden expansion and profits explosion is unlikely.
Aston is an odd case. It is known around the world and gets huge publicity with every new Bond film, but it seems to have a natural size as the maker of high-performance road cars. Unless an established big carmaker is involved in this deal to transform Astons product range, I just cant see the value in it – prestige aside – for a new investor.