Investment Dar Buys 40 Percent of Prodrive

UK-based motorsport and automotive technology business Prodrive today announced that Kuwaiti investment company, Investment Dar, purchased 40 percent stake in the company. Prodrive's founder David Richards said the collaboration with Investment Dar started in 2007 when the Kuwaiti consortium acquired Aston Martin and Richards became chairman of the company.

“Although we are best known for running motorsport programmes for Subaru and Aston Martin, we also work with vehicle manufacturers to develop new technology for the road.  This investment follows a year of planning, during which time we have identified a number of opportunities to expand our motorsport and road car activities,” Richards commented on the agreement.

David Richards will remain the majority shareholder in Prodrive but Mahmoud Samy of Investment Dar will join the executive board, the UK-based company said in a statement released to the press.

“We have followed Prodrive’s success through the Subaru and Aston Martin motorsport programmes and seen the commitment and dedication of all the employees in every aspect of the business.  Prodrive has a great heritage and David has a clear vision for growing the business. We look forward to working closely with David and his management team to realise their goals,” Samy stated.

Investment Dar is a Kuwaiti company founded in October 1994 owning a wide range of companies, including Wared Lease and Finance Co, Credit Rating and Collection Co, Bahrain Islamic Bank, Cham Bank and the aforementioned Aston Martin.

On the other hand, Prodrive was founded in 1984 and since then, it designed a couple of race cars for Subaru and Aston Martin, with subsidiaries in various locations of the world, including USA, Thailand, China and Australia.