Aston Martin's Kuwaiti Owner Acquires 40% of Prodrive

Kuwaiti investment firm, The Investment Dar Company (TID) has acquired a 40% stake in Prodrive, a UK-based engineering company with branches in Australia and the Asia Pacific region. The move comes to no surprise as in 2007, Prodrive founder and chairman David Richards led a consortium which saw TID get hold of Aston Martin from FoMoCo and Richards become chairman of the company. As part of the agreement between the two firms, David Richards will remain the majority shareholder in Prodrive and Mahmoud Samy from TID will join the board of the company.

"We have followed Prodrive's success through the Subaru and Aston Martin motorsport programs and seen the commitment and dedication of all the employees in every aspect of the business," said Mahmoud Samy. "Prodrive has a great heritage and David has a clear vision for growing the business. We look forward to working closely with David and his management team to realize their goals," he added.

David Richards said: "Through Aston Martin, I have worked closely with TID for the last two years. As a result TID has also gained a great insight into Prodrive's expertise and our culture. They very much share our vision for the business and the passion for what we do. With their experience and understanding of the motor industry, they will play a significant role in the long term development of the business."