Saudi PIF buys into McLaren as part of £550m equity raise

The McLaren Group has completed a new deal involving an estimated 550-million-pound (US$758m) equity investment. The new funding which was announced on Friday was mostly raised from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Ares Management, an investment firm.

The McLaren Group comprises a supercar manufacturing operation, alongside a Formula 1 and IndyCar racing outfit McLaren Racing. McLaren Racing will also be making its debut at the Extreme E off-road electric series in 2022.

According to a statement released by McLaren, of this new funding, PIF and Ares are responsible for as much as US$400 million, structured as preference shares and equity warrants.

The balance will be provided by existing backers of the firm as convertible preference shares, which will enable the firm to fully service a loan obtained from the National Bank of Bahrain in June 2020. 

“With these strong foundations now in place, we are well-positioned to achieve our ambitions as a global luxury supercar and elite motorsport business, with Automotive as McLarens core profit driver,” said McLaren Group’s executive chairman Paul Walsh.