From New Yawk Times:

Despite Its 007 Cachet, Ford May Sell Aston Martin


DEARBORN, Mich., Aug. 31 — The Ford Motor Company said on Thursday that it was exploring a sale of all or part of Aston Martin, the British automaker that produced the sports car made famous by James Bond.

Aston Martin is one of three British companies that Ford may sell as part of its effort to raise money to finance a turnaround in North America. The others are Jaguar and Land Rover, though the company has made no announcements concerning them yet.

Potential buyers for both Aston Martin and Jaguar have come forward. “We’ve already received inquiries from some interested parties as it relates to Aston Martin,” said a Ford spokesman, Tom Hoyt. JCB, a British company that builds construction and excavation vehicles, has said it is interested in buying Jaguar.

Ford’s chief executive, William Clay Ford Jr., said the decision to put Aston Martin on the market was made in the course of an “ongoing strategic review” of the company’s revamping program.

Selling some or all of Aston Martin, which was founded in London in 1913, would “allow it to reach its full potential, while enabling Ford to efficiently raise capital for its other brands,” Mr. Ford said in a statement.

“Since Aston Martin’s dealer network, product architecture and size are distinctly different from other Ford brands,” Mr. Ford continued, “it is the most logical and capital-smart divestiture choice.”

Mr. Ford’s statement said no decisions had been reached regarding a sale of other brands. The company said it had not set an asking price for Aston Martin, and analysts could not immediately estimate how much a deal was likely to be worth.

Brett D. Hoselton, an automotive analyst with KeyBanc Capital Markets in Cleveland, agreed that Ford could benefit from selling Aston Martin, which has about 100 dealers worldwide and sold a record 4,500 vehicles last year.

“It’s not core to the business,” he said.

But Mr. Hoselton disputes Mr. Ford’s assertion that Aston Martin, which recently turned its first profit since the 1960’s, is the most logical choice.
“Jaguar makes the most sense — that’s obviously been the money loser,” Mr. Hoselton said. “Not only is it a distraction for the management, but it’s a drag on earnings.”

Jaguar and Aston Martin are part of Ford’s European luxury unit, the Premier Automotive Group, which also includes Volvo and Land Rover. In a regulatory filing this month, Ford said it expected the group to be unprofitable in 2006 because of declining sales for all but Aston Martin.

Ford at one time said the four brands would account for one-third of the company’s overall earnings by 2006, but backed away from that estimate as losses mounted at Jaguar, which it bought for $2.5 billion in 1989.

Ford bought 75 percent of Aston Martin in 1987 for an undisclosed amount. It assumed full ownership in 1994, the same year it opened a new factory for the brand in Bloxham, England, not far from Aston Martin’s headquarters in the village of Gaydon. Ford brought in a former executive at Porsche, Ulrich Bez, to head Aston Martin, which sells three models: the $110,000 V-8 Vantage, the $165,000 DB9 and the $260,000 V-12 Vanquish.

Aston Martin turned heads at this year’s Detroit auto show when it displayed a concept car called the Rapide. Meant as the flagship of the Aston Martin line, the Rapide featured a 6.0-liter, V-12 engine with 480 horsepower. Aston Martin officials said at the time that if they received enough positive feedback, they would put the car in production, aiming for it to reach showrooms in about 36 months. But no decision was ever announced and the Rapide’s fate is uncertain.

“Ford has done an excellent job with Aston Martin,” said Michael Parchment, general manager of Miller Motor Cars, a luxury car dealership in Greenwich, Conn. “If it wasn’t for Ford, Aston Martin wouldn’t exist.”
Mr. Parchment said that he hoped new owners would have the brand’s best interests in mind.

The news of a possible sale of Aston Martin came about a month after Ford hired Kenneth Leet, a former investment banker, as a strategic adviser to guide its review and to recommend restructuring steps like alliances with other auto companies and the sale of some units.