The richest man in Switzerland bought a stake in Aston Martin
April 19, 2020Ernesto Bertarelli, 54, whose marital status is estimated at $ 18.1 billion and is mainly associated with pharmaceuticals, acquired a 3.4% stake in the British automaker, according to a statement filed on Friday.
Aston Martin has been struggling with cash flow and unsold dealer stocks since 2018. The company said last month that it might need additional funding even after an infusion of £ 536 million ($ 670 million) from a group led by Canadian investor Lawrence Stroll, who runs the Racing Point Formula One team
A representative of Stroll said that the issue of new shares, which are part of the capital injection, and which is expected to be closed on Monday, will reduce Bertarelli’s stake to 0.7%. The representative of Bertarelli did not immediately respond to a request from reporters.
According to a report by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, most of the Bertarelli family’s fortune came from the sale of Merk, a $ 8.6 billion manufacturer of infertility medicine Serono in 2006. Most of the revenue was reinvested through the Geneva-based Waypoint family office, whose assets include commercial real estate in London and Switzerland, as well as technology-oriented venture capital fund Forestay Capital.
