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BMW AG denied a Automobilwoche report that it’s interested in buying McLaren Automotive Ltd., while Volkswagen AG’s Audi unit suggested it might be open to some form of cooperation with the British supercar-maker.
Both BMW and Audi are eyeing the company’s supercar business, with Audi also interested in the manufacturer’s Formula 1 racing team, Automobilwoche reported Sunday, without specifying where it got the information.
A BMW spokesman said that the Automobilwoche article is “wrong.” A spokeswoman for Audi responded that the company “routinely considers various ideas for cooperation” as part of its “strategic deliberations.”
BMW will hold talks with Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat, which controls McLaren, at the beginning of next month, Automobilwoche said.
McLaren has been attempting to repair its finances following the impact of the pandemic. In July, the Woking, England-based company raised 550 million pounds ($738 million) from existing investors and the sale of preference shares and equity warrants to new backers Ares Management Corp. and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. It also raised $620 million from a bond issue.
(Updates with Audi comment in third paragraph.)
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