Aston Martin is selling an ownership stake of its Formula 1 team to multi-billion-dollar private investment firm Arctos Partners.
Aston Martin F1 has officially announced that it has reached a deal with Arctos Partners which is an American private equity firm, to sell a minority stake in the F1 team at a $1 billion valuation.
The Silverstone-based team has confirmed that the deal to sell a minority shareholding is exclusively within AMR Holdings GP Limited and not in parent company Aston Martin Lagonda, but they have not disclosed the purchase price or even the percentage of the share.
Aston Martin anticipates the deal to be finalized by year’s end. The Financial Times reports that the F1 team would be worth £1 billion after the investment.
The partnership with Aston Martin F1 entails offering the team extensive expertise in the sports sector along with a strong network of powerful connections to bolster its future expansion.
The Greenwich, Connecticut-based company was founded in 2020 and specializes in investing in sports and entertainment franchises along with other companies.
The Golden State Warriors of the NBA and the Tampa Bay Lightning of the NHL are two of its well-known investments.
According to Aston Martin, the partnership will provide strategic strength, strong sports connections, and important insights at a time when the Silverstone-based team is making rapid strides in the world of Formula 1.
“I am delighted to welcome Arctos Partners as a new partner and minority shareholder in the Aston Martin Formula 1 Team,” Aston Martin’s executive chairman Lawrence Stroll said.
“As investors in several leading sports franchises, the partnership brings deep industry knowledge, and I am thrilled that Aston Martin will be joining such a prestigious portfolio.
“The team has enjoyed tremendous success this season with eight podium finishes and our biggest points haul as a team, but our collective ambition is greater.
“Arctos see the potential and value of this project as we continue to build a world-class Formula 1 team,” Stroll added. “They share our vision for our ultra-luxury brand, and they are extremely passionate about the sport and its prospects.
“We are investing in infrastructure, people and processes, and this is the perfect time to add strength in depth with the operational expertise and strategic experience of Arctos.
“Together, we will continue to drive this team forward and build an even brighter and successful future.”
The involvement of Stroll’s investment group in Aston Martin F1 has been the subject of recent speculation. Rumors indicated that the Canadian billionaire and his associates were considering selling a part of their stake in the team.
However, managing partner and co-founder of Arctos Doc O’Connor’s remarks seem to dispel that rumor.
“We look forward to collaborating with Aston Martin and view the opportunity as the beginning of a long-term partnership with Lawrence and the entire organization,” O’Connor said.
“This investment is consistent with our firm’s strategy, which focuses on backing leading sports brands across North America and Europe.
“We will provide extensive resources to enhance [the team’s] reach and brand, including industry intelligence sourced from our proprietary quantitative research and data science platform.”
Aston Martin has not previously welcomed new investors under their current name. The team was founded in 2018 when Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll led a group of investors to acquire Force India and changed the name to Racing Point.
The F1 team later had its name changed to Aston Martin for the 2021 season after Stroll became executive chairman of the Aston Martin car company in 2020 after investing £182 million.
Stroll has contributed a substantial sum of money to the Formula 1 team, most notably by building a £200 million factory right next to the Silverstone circuit.
The team’s performance skyrocketed at the beginning of the 2023 season, but as the season comes to an end, errors in the development program have left them trailing behind.
