8:33 am, March 25, 2024
The Bahraini state has officially completed its takeover of McLaren, as the British brand looks to ease its financial headaches.
The Gulf state’s sovereign wealth fund – Mumtalakat – has taken full control of the brand’s parent company, McLaren Group, which also owns the McLaren F1 team.
It is hoped that the deal will secure the long-term future of the brand following heavy losses over recent years.
Bosses at the Woking-based outfit described the deal as a ‘major milestone’ in the history of the company.
McLaren Group’s executive chairman Paul Walsh said in a statement: ‘We are delighted at Mumtalakat’s continued commitment to McLaren through this deal.
‘This will further enable us to focus on delivering our long-term business plan, including investment in new products and technologies, while continuing to explore potential technical partnerships with industry partners.’
Mumtalakat was already the group’s largest shareholder but will now take complete control of operations.
The McLaren Group portfolio also includes teams in IndyCar series, Formula E and Extreme E.
His Excellency Shaikh Abdulla bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, CEO of Mumtalakat, added: ‘Today’s announcement crystallises the next phase of the company’s trajectory of growing its leadership position in the luxury super car and motorsports industries.
‘This reorganisation and new simplified structure positions McLaren for success and opens up strategic avenues, which include exploring new partnerships to enhance the company’s growth over the coming years.
‘The completion of this process is also a significant milestone that reflects our support for McLaren’s continued innovation and long-term commitment to excellence.’
McLaren’s state of the art Woking base
The BBC reports that the latest deal could pave the way for more outside investment, with Mumtalakat said to be open to selling a minority shareholding in order to help expand McLaren’s range and develop electric vehicles.
The likes of Polestar, Hyundai, BMW and Lucid Motors have are all rumoured to have held talks with the company, according to various press reports.
Tesla is another name which has been linked with a potential investment, although no official talks are believed to have taken place.
Mumtalakat has been a shareholder in McLaren since 2007 and pumped more than £450m into the struggling outfit last year.
The group’s most recent accounts – covering the first nine months of last year – show a pre-tax loss of £276m.
