China’s Geely Automobile Holding is in talks with Aston Martin management and investors about taking a stake in the iconic British luxury carmaker, according to a source familiar with the discussions and the Financial Times on Friday.
Geely is conducting due diligence as it considers taking a stake in the 107-year-old UK firm, the FT said citing four people familiar with the discussions.
The talks come almost a month after Aston Martin confirmed it was in early-stage talks with potential investors as it launched a review of its funding.
Earlier this week, Aston Martin warned its 2019 profits would almost halve due to weak European markets.
A spokesman for Aston declined to comment on whether the company is in talks with Geely, and reiterated a statement from Tuesday.
“We also remain in discussions with potential strategic investors, which may or may not involve an equity investment into the company,” he said.
A spokesman for Geely Europe declined to comment.
Daimler declined to comment.
Geely’s chairman Li Shufu, owns a 9.69% stake in Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler. Geely and Daimler run the Smart city car brand as a joint venture out of China.