Ford Motor Co. sells controlling stake in Aston Martin

Ford Motor Co. announced Tuesday the company got $931 million (EUR 675 million) in cash and preferred stock for its sale of a controlling stake in Aston Martin, a famous sports car brand appeared so many times in James Bond films.

Ford said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it completed the sale in the second quarter. Ford spokeswoman Becky Sanch said the automaker retained a stake in the sports car unit by receiving preferred stock from Primrose Cove Ltd., the holding company of the group that acquired Aston Martin.

Ford said in the regulatory filing that it received a pretax gain of $187 million (EUR 136 million) in the deal with a consortium of investors such as racing mogul David Richards, John Sinders and Kuwaiti firms of Investment Dar and Adeem Investment Co.

The automaker said in March that it would receive $848 million (EUR 615 million) and retain a $77 million (EUR 56 million) stake in Aston Martin.

Ford said last month that it had received several preliminary bids for its Jaguar and Land Rover units, which like Aston Martin have been part of the company's Premier Automotive Group.