British supercar maker McLaren has been sold to an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, in a deal presided over by the Emirate’s crown prince.
The Woking-based company has until now been owned by state-owned Bahraini investment outfit Mumtalakat.
But the firm has now sealed an agreement to sell McLaren’s automotive business to CYVN Holdings, which is managed by the trillion-dollar Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
It comes after McLaren posted record annual losses of £924m in 2023, up from £349m the year prior.
Under the deal, Mumtalakat will retain control of the McLaren racing brand, with CYVN coming in as a minority shareholder.
A signing ceremony was reportedly witnessed by Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the emirate’s crown prince and son of Abu Dhabi ruler and United Arab Emirates (UAE) president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Abu Dhabi described the acquisition as “a defining moment in CYVN’s vision to build a leading, globally connected mobility platform”.
The business has previously invested in Chinese electric car giant Nio as well, as part of the Emirate’s efforts to diversify away from oil and gas into new industries.
Jassem Mohammed Bu Ataba Al Zaabi, the fund’s chairman, added: “By combining McLaren’s iconic heritage and expertise with CYVN’s advanced engineering and technology capabilities, we aim to redefine high-performance mobility and set a new benchmark for excellence.”
Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, the Bahraini finance minister and chairman of Mumtalakat, added: “This agreement marks a pivotal moment in Mumtalakat’s strategic vision for the transformation of McLaren Group.
“We are confident in CYVN’s ability to build on McLaren’s strong legacy and unlock its full potential with Mumtalakat continuing to play a strategic role in McLaren having the ability to benefit from future growth.”
The agreement follows a period of turmoil at McLaren, which has required Mumtalakat to repeatedly pump in tens of millions of pounds to keep the carmaker afloat.
That prompted the Bahrainis to hire Wall Street bankers from JP Morgan to find a buyer earlier this year.
Mumtalakat has owned a major stake in McClaren since 2007.
But in 2020, the fund joined other shareholders to provide a £300m emergency cash infusion to the carmaker as its finances were devastated by the Covid pandemic.
Another £1bn was then raised the following year through measures including a sale-and-leaseback of the company’s Woking headquarters, the part-sale of the company’s heritage car collection and a fundraising involving Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.
