Ford to Sell Aston Martin for £479m

Ford will sell the luxury British car maker Aston Martin, in a deal worth £479m ($925m), to a group fronted by BAR and Benetton motor racing boss David Richards.

Ford, the 2nd largest UK car maker, and 3rd largest in the world, confirmed that it would keep a £40m investment in Aston Martin, and expected that the deal will close in the 2nd quarter of this year.

David Richards, who's motor sport and engineering group, Prodrive, has a team place in the 2008 F1 championship, partnered in the deal with John Sinders, a banker in shipping and finance, and Kuwait's Investment Dar and Adeem Investment Co.

Ford, who posted the biggest loss in its 103 year history in 2006, dropping £6.6b into the red, said the sale of Aston Martin would free funds to invest in its other brands after a sharp downturn in sales, which can be attributed to high fuel prices and high interest rates.

Ford is currently undergoing a 4 year turn around plan that includes closing 16 plants and cutting up to 45,000 jobs.

The Aston Martin name was given a boost by its appearance in the 1964 James Bond film "Goldfinger", starring Sean Connery swapping his Bentley for a gadget-laden DB5, complete with ejector seat, rockets and retractable armored shield.

Daniel Craig was behind the wheel of a silver DBS in the latest James Bond film "Casino Royale" in 2006. Read more about the Aston Martin DBS here.