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Mumtalakat, Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund, is actively looking for buyers for its stake in the McLaren Group, following losses incurred by the British car maker in the wake of the pandemic.
Mumtalakat, which owns a 50% stake in the company, has reportedly hired bankers to find a “strategic partner” after investors were forced to pump 1.5 billion British pounds ($1.92 billion) across four years into the company to stem losses, The Sunday Times reported.
The wealth fund is said to have drafted in advisers at JP Morgan following an order from Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, according to the report.
The news comes months after Sky News reported in December that the fund was in talks about a deal with minority investors of McLaren Group that would effectively see Mumtalakat becoming McLaren’s sole owner.
Mumtalakat is said to have instructed JP Morgan to approach Chinese buyers, which have already been in talks with rival luxury car making brands such as Lotus, The Sunday Times reported.
A spokesman for McLaren told The Sunday Times it was “open to discussing potential strategic partners and suppliers.”
Mumtalakat has owned a major stake in McLaren since 2007. In June last year, Reuters reported the fund had expanded its stake in McLaren Group, which includes the British supercar maker and McLaren Racing. The sovereign wealth fund bought shares and warrants worth 400 million pounds ($508.92 million) in McLaren from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Ares Management.
According to official figures, the car maker incurred losses of £349 million in 2022, compared to £135 million in 2021.
(Writing by Bindu Rai, editing by Seban Scaria)
