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[Rumour] Apple reportedly to buy sports car manufacturer McLaren


Andy_Bangle
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Reports are circulating that Apple is in the midst of conversations to buy some aspects of the McLaren Technology Group, specifically, the division that is known for hand-crafted luxury high-performance sports cars to supplement the Apple Car project.

According to testimonials from "three people briefed on the negotiations" the Financial Times is claiming that Apple started negotiations to purchase McLaren for between £1 billion and £1.5 billion ($1.3 billion to $2 billion). Discussions have reportedly been ongoing for months.

At this time it is not clear if Apple is seeking to buy just the automotive division from the group, or the entire group. 

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2 hours ago, Andy_Bangle said:

That's still significantly less than they paid Dr Dre for Beats Electronics :uhoh:

That deal was a huge milestone for investments too.

The Carlyle group invested $500m in the company in September 2013.  When Apple bought it out 8 months later, Carlyle Group recovered their $500m investment and a tidy profit of....$1 billion on top of it.  :roflmao:

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McLaren saying they aren't in discussions with Apple. I can see why they would want a tie up. 

Apple are a premium brand and McLaren have started a car company from scratch to volume (ash) manufacture in a relatively small period of time. However the money would have to be good as they are doing rather well with new products and an expanded range still to fully hit its stride. Ron Dennis has wanted to do this for a long time and I doubt that they would sell out cheaply if at all. 

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I don't think Ron is short of money. 

From nothing they have created a series of cars that are getting stunning reviews and plaudits. With three discrete models now and a 650 replacement on the way I'd say they are doing very well indeed. 

Some of the McLaren backers already have very deep pockets and I think it would have to be a very persuasive deal for McLaren / Ron to go for it, but I can see why they might work well together. Rons eye for detail is something akin to Steve Jobs of old and something that might resonate with Apple senior management. 

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  • 1 month later...

McLaren chief executive Mike Flewitt said no bid was put on the table although talks with Apple indeed held.

“There wasn't a bid from Apple. They visited. We talked. We talked about what they did. We talked about what we did. They toured. It never matured to a definitive proposition,” 

McLaren shareholders have rejected bids, not looking to sell.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-motorracing-mclaren-idUSKBN13D29O

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