Aston Martin’s future is blurry after it had been reported that Kuwait’s Investment Dar, which owns half the company, confirmed that it had problems refinancing its debt. Affected by the economic downturn, Investment Dar said that it has signed an agreement with investors and creditors to freeze claims, allowing it to have more time for restructuring.

In 2007, a consortium led by Dave Richards bought Aston Martin from Ford for £480 million to get the majority stake. Part of the funding for Dar’s 51% stake came from a number of international banks that had agreed to a sharia-compliant loan. Following reported debts of more than $3 billion, Kuwait’s central bank appointed a temporary administrator to oversee business at Investment Dar. Over the weekend, a standstill agreement was reached where Dar agreed to complete “a variety of undertakings to the consenting banks and investors, including the appointment of a chief restructuring officer.” An Aston Martin spokesman said that nothing had changed at the company. He confirmed that he still has “strong ongoing support” from its shareholders.

[via autocar]

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