Billionaires Bernard Arnault and Albert Frere are considering a bid for the Aston Martin brand, which Ford put up for sale in August. According to the U.K.’s Financial Times, the two set up an investment fund of $1.25 billion and they are “looking at Aston Martin.”
Mr. Arnault is CEO and controlling shareholder of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, which owns luxury brands Louis Vuitton and Fendi. Mr. Frere is chairman of Belgian investment firm Groupe Bruxelles Lambert.
While Aston Martin has performed well in recent years, Ford put the company up for sale in order to raise capital. The sale of a struggling brand like Jaguar would not be able to raise Ford the amount of cash it needs. Some observers suspect Ford might be attempting to raise cash in order to take the company private — a rumor first reported by USA Today in August.
