Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC (LSE:AML) has been hit by a retaliatory lawsuit filed by two former car dealers in Switzerland.
Nebula Project, a Swiss company owned by Andreas Baenziger and Florian Kamelger, claims it is owed roughly £150mln for underwriting the development of the British carmarket's Valkryie hypercar, which was troubled with supply chain and manufacturing issues earlier in the year.
According to the Financial Times, which quotes two people with knowledge of the matter, the case centres on a deal to underwrite the development of the car.
Aston Martin turned to Baenziger and Kamelger in 2016 to underwrite the project, with the pair running an Aston dealership in Switzerland and dealing with many of the company’s top-end clients.
The dealers were guaranteed royalty payments of about 3%, worth about £150mn, once the cars were on sale, according to three people with knowledge of the arrangement at the time quoted in the FT.
However, last year Aston claimed the pair withheld Valkyrie customer deposits from the company and sued them to recoup the £15mln it said it was owed. At the same time, it cancelled the contract.
Last week, Aston Martin confirmed it would be raising £575.8mln through a rights issue, which it said would be used to repay existing debt, create value for shareholders, strengthen its financial resilience and improve the company's cash flow generation by reducing its interest costs.
The group confirmed the existence of the case in the rights issue prospectus, adding it is “retaliatory and without merit.”