Photo: McLaren
Following a recent report claiming that BMW was interested in purchasing a controlling stake in McLaren Automotive, the Bavarian carmaker quickly decided to set things straight, denying the rumors altogether.
Initially, it was reported by Automobilwoche that BMW was eyeing McLaren’s supercar business and that it would contact Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund, Mumtalakat (which controls McLaren), at the beginning of next month. Afterwards, a BMW spokesman flat out called the article “wrong”, as reported by Autonews Europe.
As far as McLaren is concerned, the British company has been trying to fix its finances in the wake of the pandemic, but we haven’t heard any rumblings they might be looking for a buyer. That being said, the original story also contained the following nugget, namely that Audi was considering some type of business venture involving McLaren’s Formula 1 division.
This at least makes some sense, given the VW Group’s interest in joining Formula 1, either with its Audi brand or Porsche – the latter being a more likely candidate at this stage.
Audi did tell Reuters that it often considers different cooperation opportunities but failed to make any specific comments regarding McLaren. In Formula 1, the British outfit is powered by Mercedes and getting them to switch to a new engine manufacturer (especially a newcomer like in the case of Audi or Porsche), would be a tough sell.
Back in July, McLaren managed to raise $738 million from existing investors and the sale of preference shares and equity warrants to the Ares Management Corp, as well as Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. The supercar-maker also raised $620 million from a bond issue. More recently though, McLaren has been in the news because of its CEO Mike Flewitt, who resigned after an eight-year tenure.
"Mike has been instrumental in McLaren now being recognized as one of the world's leading luxury supercar brands, achieving the heights of success that have taken our competitors many more decades to achieve," said the company.
As far as McLaren is concerned, the British company has been trying to fix its finances in the wake of the pandemic, but we haven’t heard any rumblings they might be looking for a buyer. That being said, the original story also contained the following nugget, namely that Audi was considering some type of business venture involving McLaren’s Formula 1 division.
This at least makes some sense, given the VW Group’s interest in joining Formula 1, either with its Audi brand or Porsche – the latter being a more likely candidate at this stage.
Audi did tell Reuters that it often considers different cooperation opportunities but failed to make any specific comments regarding McLaren. In Formula 1, the British outfit is powered by Mercedes and getting them to switch to a new engine manufacturer (especially a newcomer like in the case of Audi or Porsche), would be a tough sell.
Back in July, McLaren managed to raise $738 million from existing investors and the sale of preference shares and equity warrants to the Ares Management Corp, as well as Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. The supercar-maker also raised $620 million from a bond issue. More recently though, McLaren has been in the news because of its CEO Mike Flewitt, who resigned after an eight-year tenure.
"Mike has been instrumental in McLaren now being recognized as one of the world's leading luxury supercar brands, achieving the heights of success that have taken our competitors many more decades to achieve," said the company.
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