F1 Mogul Lawrence Stroll Once Sought Charity From Newcastle United’s Controversial Owner To Wipe Out $1.19 Billion Debt

Aston Martin once tied up with the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the same wealth fund that owns the Premier League club Newcastle United. The Saudi Arabian wealth fund was slated to take a 16.7 percent stake in the iconic British manufacturers, which in return would have helped Aston Martin to wipe out billions in debts.

This partnership with the controversial owner gave the British manufacturers a much-needed impetus for the 2022 F1 season and the upcoming seasons as a whole. Talking about this, Lawrence Stroll conveyed, “Today’s [When it was announced] announcement marks the latest success in the evolution of Aston Martin, the restoration of the business and balance sheet we inherited, and the acceleration of our long-term growth potential.”

Stroll claimed that the new partnership will boost the long-term growth of the Silverstone-based makers. “Aston Martin’s return to the pinnacle of motorsport with the F1 team has also ushered in a new era for our iconic British brand,” the Canadian boss said.

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“Our focus on building brand equity and unleashing the potential of Aston Martin is already delivering growing demand from a new generation of customers, with more than 60 percent new to the brand in 2021,” further stated the owner of Aston Martin F1 team in a report published by Express.

Aston Martin to be benefited from the tie-up in curbing debt

Aston Martin are in huge debt right now. As the debt amount surpassed over $1.19 Billion in March this year, reports suggested that this investment by the Saudi company will help them with the same.

According to reports, Aston Martin said they planned to raise over $784 million through investments, out of which the Saudi company was slated to buy over $94.5 million worth of shares and use the rest money to invest for separate rights. This made them the second largest shareholders after team owner Lawrence Stroll himself.

Lance Stroll‘s father earlier held 22 percent stakes in the British automobile giants. After the Saudi investment, it was reported that the Canadian billionaire will have 18.3 percent in the team, while the Saudi company will have 16.7 percent stake.

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Furthermore, out of the total amount, it was believed that around half of it was supposed to be used to repay the mounting debt. While the other half was to be paid for future expenditures. This has come at a time when the team was struggling under the new rules package in the ninth position, just ahead of tenth-placed Williams.