Revised bids for sale of Aston Martin in second round

Revised bids for Aston Martin, the luxury carmaker put up for sale by the troubled US-listed car giant Ford Motor Company, are reportedly expected in today - reports Business Sale.

According to the Financial Times, bidders remaining in the second round of the auction are thought to include Syrian-born property tycoon Simon Halabi, buyout group Doughty Hanson, Canadian car parts group Magna, and a consortium that includes Australian media magnate James Packer.

One Equity, Alchemy Partners and Texas Pacific Group have all dropped out of the bidding process, and it is unclear whether Permira will submit a further offer.

Ford is hoping to reap over £450m from the sale of Aston Martin, as it struggles amid a declining US market share and record losses in 2006.

Aston Martin is part of the Premier Automotive Group, which also includes the Jaguar, Volvo and Landrover brands. Ford previously considered selling all the brands within this division, but only Aston Martin was formally put up for sale.

The auction is being handled by UBS.

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