McLaren damped down
a report on Wednesday that Apple Inc had made an approach for the British
Formula One team owner and supercar maker.
"We can confirm
that McLaren is not in discussion with Apple in respect of any potential
investment," a McLaren spokesman said.
"As you would
expect, the nature of our brand means we regularly have confidential
conversations with a wide range of parties, but we keep them
confidential."
The Financial Times
newspaper, citing three sources it said had been briefed on negotiations, had
reported that Apple had made an approach for a strategic investment or a
potential buyout.
It reported that the
automotive group could be valued at between 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) and
1.5 billion pounds. (on.ft.com/2cUU1ax)
Reports have
suggested that Apple, which had no immediate response to the Financial Times
story, is working on a self-driving car. The iPhone maker has hired dozens of
automotive experts over the past year and is exploring making charging stations
for electric cars. Apple also invested $1 billion in Chinese ride-hailing
service Didi Chuxing earlier this year.
The McLaren Formula
One team is partnered by Honda, who provide the power units. The team is the
second most successful after Ferrari in terms of race wins and titles but has
not won a grand prix since 2012.
(Reporting by Alan
Baldwin in London and Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb
Chakrabarty and Susan Fenton)
Follow Solenzo Blog on
0 Comments