Motor racing exec Ron Dennis ended his 37-year association with McLaren, the automaker and Formula 1 team, "after agreeing to sell his stake in the business" for £275M ($362.3M) to a new holding company that will bring the two units together, according to Ahmed & Campbell of the FINANCIAL TIMES. Dennis will sell his shareholdings in both the McLaren Technology Group, which runs the F1 outfit, and McLaren Automotive Ltd., the car maker. The deal will allow the company’s other shareholders -- TAG, the Luxembourg investment group run by entrepreneur Mansour Ojjeh, and Mumtalakat, Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund -- "to bring the two entities under a single holding company called McLaren Group." The new structure will allow the company to "pursue an initial public offering in the medium term," possibly by '20, according to two people familiar with the strategy (FT, 6/30). In London, Gwyn Topham reported Dennis, 70, was "ousted from the helm of McLaren last November after disagreements with shareholders and put on gardening leave." He founded McLaren Int'l as a company in '80, "growing it into a supplier of motor sport technology and manufacturer of McLaren supercars, developed as a standalone business" in '10. The McLaren Group is valued at £2.4B ($3.2B) and employs more than 3,400 people. Dennis said that the deal was "a fitting end to my time at McLaren, and will enable me to focus on my other interests." He will continue working as a consultant, including as an adviser to the U.K. Ministry of Defence. Sheikh Mohammed said that the company would outline plans to revamp McLaren "in the near future." Projects include a £50M ($66M) plant to build supercars in Sheffield (GUARDIAN, 6/30).
