Aston Martin shares pop as Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll invests more cash

Shares of Aston Martin jumped as much as 13% on Monday after the British luxury carmaker said it will raise more than £125 million ($161.7 million) through funding from Chairman Lawrence Stroll’s investment vehicle and the sale of a minority stake in the Formula One racing team.

Yew Tree Consortium, an investment vehicle led by Canadian billionaire Stroll, is paying around £52.5 million to increase its stake in the storied British carmaker.

Stroll’s stake in the company is poised to increase to roughly 33% from about 27.7% as part of the transaction.

Aston Martin, famed for both its role in the James Bond movies and its history of financial ups and downs, also said it intends to sell its minority investment in the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team to raise at least £74 million.

Shares of Aston Martin ended the session 7% higher, paring earlier gains. The London-listed stock is down around 39% year-to-date.

“This renewed support from Lawrence and his Yew Tree Consortium partners underlines their immense confidence in our team and the future of the Company,” Aston Martin CEO Adrian Hallmark said in a statement.

“By strengthening the balance sheet, this investment provides additional headroom to support our future product innovation and business transformation activities, which combined, will accelerate our progress into being a sustainably profitable company,” he added.

Aston Martin announced plans last month to cut 170 jobs, roughly 5% of its global workforce, after swinging to a loss in the fourth quarter.

Stroll said on Monday that he was pleased to underline his “unwavering support and commitment” to Aston Martin, following investments of around £600 million into the company since 2020.

“This proposed investment further underscores my conviction in this extraordinary brand, and commitment to ensuring Aston Martin has the strongest possible platform for creating long-term value while reducing equity dilution via this premium subscription, which should greatly reassure shareholders, as I again increase my long-term ownership in the Company,” Stroll said in the statement.