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Aston Martin Adds £135 Million to Debt Pile in Bid to Bolster Finances

The Aston Martin dealership on Park Lane in London. Photographer: Benjamin Cremel/AFP/Getty Images (Benjamin Cremel/Photographer: Benjamin Cremel/AF)

(Bloomberg) -- Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings Plc has raised about £135 million ($172 million) from privately-placed debt as it seeks to bolster its finances ahead of a ramp-up and key product launches this year.

The British carmaker’s subsidiary Aston Martin Capital Holdings Ltd. has privately placed $90 million of 10% senior secured notes and £65 million of 10.375% senior secured notes, both due 2029. The debt raised this week will be combined with US dollar and pound sterling sales done earlier this year by the company, it said in a statement to exchanges.

The loss-making company — which has long been associated with the James Bond movies — said last week it expected to deliver a strong second-half performance underpinned by a “significant ramp up in wholesale volumes including both the new V12 flagship Vanquish and ultra-exclusive Valiant Special.”

Aston Martin is in the middle of a turnaround led by Executive Chairman Lawrence Stroll. The Canadian billionaire has been forced to tap investors for funds repeatedly since rescuing the company in 2020, bringing in new shareholders such as Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. The luxury carmaker had been running net losses in the hundreds of millions of pounds over the past several years.

Aston’s move follows a similar drive by Altice International Sarl, one of the three silos of billionaire Patrick Drahi’s embattled telecom empire, which printed $375 million through a private placement to be speedier in paying down debt owed to its banks.

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.