Iconic British carmaker Aston Martin is reportedly considering going public on the stock exchange in a deal that could value it at up to £5bn.
Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg on Tuesday reported that the 1913-founded carmaker had held preliminary talks with advisers about an initial public offering, or IPO, though no final decision had yet been made.
The people said that investor interest in a stock market flotation this year could be enhanced by the planned expansion of Aston Martin’s sports utility vehicle segment next year. The group plans to begin building the new DBX SUV in Wales in 2019.
Back in November, Aston Martin said that its new Vantage model had sold out almost all of its production capacity for this year, according to Bloomberg.
Aston Martin declined to comment on the report when contacted by The Independent.
The carmaker is one of Britain’s best known brands, partially thanks to its prominence in popular culture, like in the James Bond franchise. According to Bloomberg, the company surpassed 5,000 deliveries in 2017 for the first time since 2008.
A stock market debut in London of the scale reported would serve as a litmus test of investor sentiment ahead of the UK’s planned departure from the EU in March 2019.
A total of 106 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange during the whole of 2017, raising £15bn and marking a three-year high, but for some deals investors have proved more cautious than in the past, citing the lingering uncertainty around Brexit’s implications for the capital as a financial hub.
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