Daimler AG spokeswoman, Silke Walters, confirmed that the German manufacturer of Mercedes-Benz luxury autos, is in early talks with Aston Martin on supply and technical-cooperation agreements. But, declining to go into specific details, Walters said that “while both sides know and respect each other very much, no decisions have been made”. Discussions also involve Aston Martin owners Investindustrial Advisers SpA and Investment Dar Co., Walters said.
After years of talks between Daimler and Aston Martin, the deal is now being pushed as London-based Investindustrial, a European private-equity fund that acquired 37.5 percent holding in Aston Martin for $250 million, prefers Daimler as their partner for a supply deal. This according to a person familiar with the discussions said. Even with Investindustrial’s preference towards Daimler, a final agreement isn’t imminent, the same person said, asking to remain anonymous due to the private nature of the talks.
Aston Martin is the only global luxury auto brand that does not belong to a larger manufacturing group, making it extremely difficult to match competitors’ lower costs for creating models. With its new backing by Investindustrial, Aston Martin laid out its plans to invest $777 million over the next four years in order to compete with Volkswagen AG’s Bentley and Fiat SpA’s Ferrari and Maserati.
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