Aston Martin Lagonda to launch £575.8m rights issue

Luxury carmaker Aston Martin Lagonda will launch a £575.8m rights issue as part of an effort to pay down debt and support future growth.

Aston Martin said on Monday that its 4-for-1 fully committed and underwritten rights issue will be made up of 559.0m new shares of 103.0p each, a discount of 79% to the stock's closing price on 2 September.

The FTSE 250-listed company stated it already has irrevocable commitments from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, the Yew Tree Consortium, and Mercedes-Benz AG - amounting to 44.7% of the issue.

AML added that the rights issue was the final part of its roughly £653.8m capital raise, originally announced on 15 July, with the proceeds set to be used to meaningfully deleverage its balance sheet and expedite long-term growth.

"The group is now at the beginning of the second phase of its transformation, which is focused on increasing profitability and renewing its product offering, including electrification of the Group's model range which is fundamental to its future success and growth strategy. This process should support significant improvements in gross margin and meaningful EBITDA growth, as well as a reduction in leverage," said AML.

As of 0830 BST, Aston Martin Lagonda shares were down 6.52% at 448.80p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com