In December, McLaren shareholders unanimously approved a complete recapitalisation of the business, ostensibly to allow for a “simplified” and “streamlined” governance process.
However, the supercar maker’s finances have long been under scrutiny.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company has taken out a £150 million loan from the National Bank of Bahrain, sold its stake in the F1 team, signed a leaseback deal for its famous Woking Technology Centre factory and cut 1,000 jobs.
The launch of its new hybrid supercar, the Artura, was delayed, while at the time Audi, which was considering the best way to enter F1, was reportedly considering making a major investment in McLaren.
But McLaren Group has now announced that long-term investor Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund, Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, has acquired full ownership of the share capital “after converting all preference shares into ordinary shares”.
McLaren Group executive chairman Paul Walsh said: “We are pleased that Mamtalakat has demonstrated his continuing commitment to McLaren through this transaction, which strengthens our ownership and governance structure.”
“This will enable us to better focus on delivering on our long-term business plans, including investing in new products and technologies, while continuing to explore potential technology collaborations with industry partners.”
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38
Photo: Zach Mauger / Motorsport Images
Mumtalakat has been associated with McLaren since 2007, when he bought a 30 percent stake in the company from former chairman Ron Dennis and the late Mansour Ogier.
The McLaren Group still owns a 67% stake in McLaren Racing, which also competes in IndyCar, Formula E and Extreme E, after selling a £185m stake in the F1 team to American investment firm MSP Sports Capital.
Ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, McLaren Racing confirmed that CEO Zak Brown had signed a new contract that would keep him at the team until 2030.
McLaren’s ties to Bahrain were raised in the UK House of Lords on Thursday as part of a debate about the use of sport to boost the image of a country with a poor record on human rights abuses.
As part of the debate, Lord Scriven described F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali as arrogant, “unprofessional and uninvolved” and said he had not responded to concerns about championship racing in the states and was trying to “sportwash” F1’s image.
Scriven added that Domenicali’s “F1 leadership has refused to address the issues surrounding F1 and human rights and is damaging the reputation of the sport.”
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