UAE buys McLaren after carmaker suffers record loss

British supercar maker McLaren has been sold to an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, in a deal presided over by the Emirate’s crown prince.
The Woking-based company has until now been owned by state-owned Bahraini investment outfit Mumtalakat.

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But the firm has now sealed an agreement to sell McLaren’s automotive business to CYVN Holdings, which is managed by the trillion-dollar Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

It comes after McLaren posted record annual losses of £924m in 2023, up from £349m the year prior.

Under the deal, Mumtalakat will retain control of the McLaren racing brand, with CYVN coming in as a minority shareholder.

A signing ceremony was reportedly witnessed by Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the emirate’s crown prince and son of Abu Dhabi ruler and United Arab Emirates (UAE) president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

(UAE crown prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was present when the deal to acquire the automaker was signed - ANTONIO LACERDA/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

The business has previously invested in Chinese electric car giant Nio as well, as part of the Emirate’s efforts to diversify away from oil and gas into new industries.

Jassem Mohammed Bu Ataba Al Zaabi, the fund’s chairman, added: “By combining McLaren’s iconic heritage and expertise with CYVN’s advanced engineering and technology capabilities, we aim to redefine high-performance mobility and set a new benchmark for excellence.”

Ref: UAE buys McLaren after carmaker suffers record loss (finance)