The luxury carmaker revealed on Monday that investors could buy more shares at 103p a share, a steep 78% discount from Friday’s closing price of 480p. Its shares closed down 15.6% at 405p early on Monday. The rights issue was first revealed in July as part of an overall £650m fundraising, with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) becoming the second largest shareholder through a share placement. Laurence Stroll, the billionaire fashion tycoon who led the 2020 bailout, had previously said he was not worried about getting investment from the PIF. The fund is run by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is alleged by US intelligence to have ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. Aston Martin hopes the money will allow it to reduce debt payments and invest in new electric models. The company has fallen behind some rivals when it comes to electric cars, relying instead on sales of gas-powered sports cars and newer sport utility vehicles. The company’s shares have lost nearly four-fifths of their value in the past 12 months as it grappled with high debt payments and stubbornly low sales, as well as the supply chain problems facing companies around the world. Aston Martin shares started trading at £19 when it floated on the London Stock Exchange in October 2018. However, it has since experienced a dismal period under three different chief executives. High import costs meant it needed a bailout in early 2020. That bailout arrived just as the coronavirus pandemic began, forcing its factory to shut down and forcing it to go through a painful period of declining dealer stock. Borrowing agreed during that bailout left it with “significant debt and related interest costs,” slowing profitability, it said on Monday. Subscribe to Business Today Get ready for the business day – we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. It said there was a “challenging operating environment, impacted by the war in Ukraine, the Covid-19 lockdowns in China, as well as ongoing supply chain and logistics disruptions.” Aston Martin said it had made operational improvements, including reducing the cost of building a car by 20% and increasing the company’s brand visibility by licensing its name to a Formula One racing team. The company eventually aims to build 10,000 cars a year and generate positive free cash flow by 2024.
