Aston Martin Lagonda shares are trading 12% higher, nearing the highest since April 2022, after the automaker struck a strategic supply deal with Lucid Group to produce high-performance electric vehicles.
Under the deal, Lucid will get an approximately 3.7% stake in the British company. Aston Martin will issue approximately 28.4 million new ordinary shares to Lucid and make cash payments in multiple tranches, for a total value of approximately $232 million.
According to Oddo’s analysts, “the agreement is slightly more expensive than the one with Mercedes-Benz, but much less dilutive”. In addition, experts point to the speculative aspect of the deal, which will strengthen the Public Investment Fund’s (PIF) grip on the auto company.
According to data from Bloomberg, PIF holds about 18% of Aston Martin’s shares. “The choice of Lucid as a partner is attractive, as the US electric vehicle company is equipped with world-leading BEV technology,” concluded the analysts.