McLaren Automotive to be bought by Abu Dhabi’s CYVN Holdings

British supercar company McLaren Automotive is to be bought by CYVN Holdings, an investment consortium owned by the Abu Dhabi government.

CYVN announced this week it had entered into a nonbinding agreement to acquire full ownership of McLaren’s automotive business in addition to a noncontrolling stake in McLaren Group, which includes the British brand’s Formula One team.

The value of the deal was not revealed. The announcement comes shortly after McLaren unveiled its latest supercar, the W1, and seven months after Mumtalakat, the sovereign wealth fund of Bahrain, purchased a controlling stake in the British company.

It is the latest automotive acquisition by CYVN, which in 2023 bought a controlling stake in the Gordon Murray Group, a niche British sports car firm. It is also a major investor in Chinese electric vehicle (EV) brand Nio and owns British (EV) start-up Forseven.

The new deal will help provide funding and a way for McLaren to add EVs to its model range. In a joint statement, Bahrain Mumtalakat and CYVN said the deal will benefit McLaren Automotive by providing access to CYVN’s engineering resources and technology, particularly in the field of EVs.

McLaren Automotive CEO Michael Leiters has discussed the possibility of adding an electric sports car and an SUV to the brand’s portfolio.

McLaren’s production volumes, which had been depressed since the pandemic, rose 28% in the first half of 2024. The weak volumes have affected its cash flow, with the group dependent on equity injections to continue operations.

The company has also survived by selling its UK headquarters in a sale-and-lease-back deal in 2021.

McLaren, which celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2023, has a global network spanning more than 100 locations in over 40 markets.