Daimler, the parent company of the luxury brand Mercedes-Benz, has acquired an additional one per cent share of Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd. For the past few years, the German conglomerate has been slowly acquiring shares of the British manufacturer and with the latest acquisition, its total stake in Aston Martin has increased to five per cent.
The deal, which was signed on July 31, was brokered by Investindustrial which had acquired a 37.5 per cent stake of Aston Martin around 18 months ago. Besides the extra stake, the deal has expanded the component sharing agreement between the two companies.
While Aston Martin currently uses architecture and engine which were developed when it was owned by Ford, the agreement will enable the British manufacturer to use new engines being developed by Mercedes-Benz. Daimler currently has a similar component sharing agreement with Pagani Automobili.
Besides powertrains, Daimler will also share its electrical systems and other components with Aston Martin. Aston Martin has been suffering losses since the past few months, and the deal with Daimler should help it save a significant amount in development costs and help it cut losses.
