Investindustrial-backed Aston Martin prepares for IPO

Kenny Wastell
29 August 2018

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Investindustrial-backed luxury car-maker Aston Martin has announced its intention to float on the London Stock Exchange.

According to various media reports, the company is looking for a market cap of £5bn from the IPO, while Sky News reported that Aston Martin will look to raise £1bn of fresh capital from the flotation.

Aston Martin is jointly owned by Investindustrial and Kuwaiti investment house The Investment Dar, with the GP initially investing €190m for a 37.5% stake in the company in 2012. Investindustrial then took part in a £200m growth capital investment in the business alongside investment bank Tejara Capital in 2015.

According to a statement, the proposed listing will include a secondary sell-down of existing ordinary shares, though trade investor Daimler will remain a shareholder in Aston Martin. Following the IPO, the company will have a free float of at least 25% and expects to be eligible for inclusion in the FTSE indices.

The business, which was founded in 1913 and is headquartered in Gaydon, Warwickshire, generated a £445m turnover in H1 2018 and adjusted EBITDA of £106m, up 8% and 14% respectively on the same period in 2017, according to its half-year results. It expects to generate an adjusted EBITDA margin of 23% in 2018.

Since Investinudstrial's initial investment, Aston Martin has pursued international expansion – opening multiple showrooms in Asia and Australasia – restructured its marketing team and launched an online store. It is also in the process of developing a new car assembly plant at St Athan, South Wales, a new test and development centre at Silverstone race track in England, and a new office in London.

Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs International and JP Morgan are acting as joint global coordinators in the listing, while Lazard is acting as financial adviser to Aston Martin.

An IPO prospectus is scheduled to be published around 20 September.