Automotive & F1 News: Bahrain taking full control of McLaren

Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund is gaining full ownership of McLaren Group, one of the most revered names in British premium manufacturing, as part of long-term plans to secure a partnership with a global industry giant.

Sky News has rumored that Mumtalakat, the Gulf state’s investment fund, is on the brink of a deal with McLaren’s remaining minority shareholders to convert their equity into warrant-like instruments.

The new contracts will have the economic rights to benefit from a future ‘liquidity event’ such as an initial public offering of McLaren, but would not be classed as shares.

One Sky News banking source said they expected that the agreement could be announced later this week.

It would involve roughly 20% of the equity in McLaren being converted into the new contracts, and leave the state of Bahrain as the Formula One team-owning group’s sole shareholder.

McLaren Racing, the division which directly houses the F1 and other racing operations, does have its own external shareholders following a deal struck during the pandemic to raise capital.

Mumtalakat, which has a 60% stake in McLaren, expects the British company to go public in two to three years, its chief executive told Reuters in June last year.

Earlier in 2023, Forbes estimated the current value of McLaren’s Formula 1 team at $2.2 billion.