(Adds details on performance, sector consolidation)
Dec 13 (Reuters) - Luxury British carmaker Aston Martin
is in early stage talks with potential investors about
building "longer term relationships" which it said on Friday may
or may not involve an equity investment, as part of a funding
review.
The 106-year firm said in a statement that it was reviewing
its funding requirements and various options, following reports
of buyers looking at taking a stake.
The Financial Times reported earlier that Aston Martin has
held meetings over recent weeks with Canadian billionaire
Lawrence Stroll, other carmakers and potential investors from
the Middle East, India and China.
Autocar magazine reported last week that Stroll, owner of
Formula One team Racing Point, is preparing to buy a major stake
in Aston, whose market capitalisation is now only around 1.27
billion pounds ($1.63 billion).
As the car industry consolidates through deals such as the
Peugeot and Fiat merger, Aston has said it
does not need to belong to a bigger automotive group, pointing
to the success of stand-alone rival Ferrari.
However, the carmaker has seen its shares slump since its
flotation in October 2018 as sales have missed expectations.
Some in the global car industry have turned to partnerships,
alliances or mergers to handle the challenge of electrification,
new technology and tighter margins.
The sale of a stake could help boost Aston's prospects as it
swung to a third-quarter loss last month, saying its full-year
wholesale volumes would be lower than previously guided after
slumping demand in Europe and Asia.
The company's hopes rest on almost doubling sales with its
first SUV, which enters production in 2020, particularly by
attracting more female buyers to the brand.
Aston's stock closed 9.5% lower at 556.8 pence. Its shares
were priced at 19 pounds in its October 2018 flotation.
($1 = 0.7794 pounds)
(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru;
Editing by Alexander Smith)
Aston Martin Lagonda (AML)
