JAKARTA - Aston Martin has taken another strategic step to strengthen its financial condition after obtaining new debt funding worth 550 million pounds or around Rp. 13.2 trillion. The injection of funds comes amid the financial challenges that still haunt the British sports car manufacturer, which has filed for bankruptcy seven times throughout its history.
Reported by Carscoops, Saturday, July 25, the funding package was led by HPS Investment Partners. The scheme consists of a term loan with a guarantee worth 450 million pounds (about Rp10.7 trillion), plus a term loan facility that can be liquidated later for 100 million pounds (about Rp2.4 trillion).
Aston Martin also obtained additional debt capacity of up to 100 million pounds. The company explained, the 450 million pounds will be used to repay the super senior revolving credit facility of 170 million pounds or around Rp4 trillion.
In addition, the funds will also be used to pay off a 20 million pound (about Rp478.6 billion) loan previously withdrawn from a 50 million pound (about Rp1.2 trillion) loan facility provided by members of the Yew Tree Consortium, an investment group led by one of Aston Martin's owners, Lawrence Stroll.
"This new debt funding of £550 million significantly strengthens our liquidity, providing additional resilience as well as greater flexibility to execute our current and future product plans," said Aston Martin Chief Financial Officer Doug Lafferty.
Aston Martin also confirmed its commitment to improving its financial performance compared to last year. The target includes an increase in cash flow and profit margins through a combination of more optimal sales from the core model range and special edition models that will be launched in the future.
This latest funding comes amid speculation about the potential for greater influence from Geely. A few months ago, there were reports that the Chinese automaker was poised to take over Aston Martin.
Currently, Geely already has a number of British automotive brands, such as Lotus and London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC), while Geely's founder and Chairman, Li Shufu, is known to have a great interest in the British automotive industry. Until now, it is not known how Aston Martin's shareholders feel about the possibility of Geely's influence increasing.
However, the condition of the company's valuation that continues to decline can be an opportunity for Geely. Aston Martin's market value, which had previously reached around 4.3 billion pounds or around Rp103 trillion, is now said to be only left with about one-tenth of that figure.
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