Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund reportedly on the brink of acquiring full ownership of McLaren

The McLaren group has huge changes heading its way.

Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund reportedly on the brink of acquiring full ownership of McLaren

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris (Via IMAGO)

The McLaren Group is a huge name in the world of motorsports and also across the whole automobile industry. They have done wonderful things since its inception but it has recently come to light that the Bahrain Sovereign Wealth Fund is on the brink of acquiring full ownership of the group. This move will solidify McLaren’s position as the F1 team with the richest owners.

As per Sky News, the new contracts will account for economic rights to benefit from a future liquidation event such as an initial public offering of McLaren which would not be classified as shares. Moreover, an agreement regarding the whole deal could be announced during next week.

The deal is expected to involve 20% of the equity in McLaren to get converted into new contracts and this will leave the state of Bahrain as the sole shareholder of McLaren’s F1 team. The deal that is slated to be signed next week underlines the continued confidence and leadership of the sovereign group in driving McLaren’s turnaround.

In the past, the Woking-based team’s indifferent capital structure has acted as a huge deterrent to global automotive groups’ ability to structure a long-term partnership with it in recent years. The simplification of the structure is likely to open the door for a technology partnership with an automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in the upcoming years.

McLaren has not been able to win the F1 world championship since 2008

While McLaren will have new ownership shortly, the team has not had the best of rides since winning the 2008 F1 World Championship. The outfit struggled immensely during the turbo hybrid era and things have not looked too pretty under the current regulations as well.

McLaren (Credits: Top Gear)
McLaren (Credits: Top Gear)

McLaren made a strong comeback to finish the 2023 F1 season in fourth place but when it comes to challenging Max Verstappen and Co. next year, there are still big question marks. However, with the upcoming change in ownership, the team could be led to follow a certain direction.

The papaya-colored team has been competing at the pinnacle of motor racing since 1966 and today, is considered as one of the top teams in F1. The new ownership will have a huge responsibility on its hands and considering this, it will be fascinating to see how the team would operate in the upcoming years.

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