Italy’s paneuropean private equity firm Investindustrial will buy the majority stake of Morgan Motor Company Ltd, the iconic British manufacturer of handmade sports cars. The Morgan family will keep a minority stake in the company, while for the first time in the company’s 110-year history, the management and all employees will own a minority share in the capital (see the press release here).
The transaction, which will be completed by the end of April, has no recourse to the debt and Morgan will be cash positive after the transaction. The investment will not be conducted by Investindustrial V, that the fund that still maintains a stake in the capital of Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC, listed last year in London, but with a fund that has a different strategy. The Investindustrial note does not specify which fund it is talking about, but it is reasonable to imagine that this is the Investindustrial Growth fund, given that the Investindustrial VI fund has the same buyout strategy as fund V, while the Growth fund invests in smaller companies and with significant capacity for growth, alongside entrepreneurs.
Founded in 1909 by Henry Frederick Stanley Morgan, the company still manufactures its cars in the historic Malvern plant in the English county of Worcestershire. The company closed 2018 with 33.8 million euros in revenues and a net profit of 3.2 million, compared to about 700 cars produced per year, distinguished by a design inspired by the style of the ’30s.
Investindustrial will now support Morgan in developing new products, expanding its distribution network abroad and conducting customer events. Morgan yesterday presented the Plus Six at the Geneva Motor Show, the first totally new car project from 2002 to today designed for the celebrations for the 110 years of the brand.
