(Bloomberg) -- Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings Plc, the British maker of fast cars, is reportedly holding more talks with potential investors as it comes under growing financial pressure.
China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. is mulling a stake in the ailing company, Sky News said on Saturday without disclosing the source of the information. Aston Martin’s shares rose as much as 20% during Friday trading as the Financial Times reported talks with Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. citing unidentified sources.
Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll is also close to injecting a further 200 million pounds ($261 million) into the company, which would give him 19.9% control, the FT added.
The stock has tumbled more than 60% over the past 12 months.
The company made clear the depth of its troubles as it reported a severe decline in profit in its first full year as a listed company on Tuesday. Its avenues for financing have narrowed amid weak operating performance and its year-end cash balance stood at 107 million pounds, according to January’s trading statement.
Alongside declining profit, Aston Martin is facing the prospect of raising additional debt funding which may bring its total outstanding debt to over 1 billion pounds. It is set to pay a 15% coupon on a planned $100 million of debt financing, Bloomberg News reported.
An investment from Geely would make sense, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Michael Dean wrote in a note Friday. Geely is an investor in Daimler, which in turn owns a stake in Aston. The Chinese firm also owns Volvo Cars and Lotus, a U.K. luxury car brand.
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