Italian Firm, Mahindra Vie for Aston Martin Stake

U.K. private equity firm Investindustrial and Indian SUV maker Mahindra & Mahindra are the finalists in a bidding for a 50% voting stake in Aston Martin Lagonda, according to news reports.

The duo are competing to buy the shares, which amount to a 40% equity holding, from Kuwait's Investment Dar Co., which owns 64% of Aston Martin.

The press cites unidentified sources who say an agreement could be reached this week. But Investment Dar tells Kuwait's Al-Watan newspaper that it is not holding sale talks.

Investindustrial, which previously owned Italian motorcycle maker Ducati Motor Holding, has reportedly offered nearly 250 million (€309 million) for Aston Martin. Sources tell Bloomberg News that Investindustrial would use technology and components from AMG, the performance unit of Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz Cars unit in future Aston Martin cars.

Mahindra has allegedly topped Investindustrial's bid by an unspecified amount.