Ford Motor Co. has made it official that it will sell Aston Martin to a group of private investors led by David Richards, Chairman and Chief Executive of Prodrive. U.K.-based Prodrive, one of the world's largest and most successful Motorsport and vehicle technology businesses, will not have a financial stake in Aston Martin. Richards is involved in the consortium on a personal basis.



Prodrive currently runs the Aston Martin Racing team in international sports car series, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Ford Performance Racing in the Australian V8 Supercar series. Prodrive also has an extensive global automotive technology division, which develops innovative road car technologies and niche models for the world's vehicle manufacturers. Although Richards' involvement with Aston Martin is not through Prodrive, I would expect a more involved partnership between the two companies.

Richards has partnered with Kuwait's Investment Dar, Adeem Investment Co., and John Sinders, a banker in finance and shipping from Houston, Texas, and Dubai, to fund the acquisition of Aston Martin. Although Aston Martin has said the move will provide access to additional capital, which will allow Aston Martin to continue to grow, I can't decide if this is going to be a good thing for Aston Martin customers or not. Tell me what you think.