After three and a half decades at the top of McLaren, Ron Dennis is finally parting ways with the company. Dennis will be selling his shares in the McLaren company in a £275m deal.
The 70 year old British businessman first entered the world in Formula One working as a mechanic at the age of 18 in 1966 for Cooper. In 1981, Dennis and various business partners purchased McLaren. With Dennis in control, the team had a massive turnaround and experienced a lot of success.
Dennis’ issues with the company shareholders forced him to be placed on gardening leave in late 2016 for the few months remaining in his contract. This was followed by a legal battle led by Dennis, in an attempt to get the courts to block the decision. This was unsuccessful and his contract expired January 2017, with him officially stepping down as CEO.
However, Dennis never really left the company, retaining a position as director due to his 25% stake in McLaren. But Dennis will be cutting his ties with the team once and for all, selling his shares for a reported £275m, making McLaren one of the most valuable private companies in Britain, with a total value in the ten-figure range.
The sale will reported pave the way for the restructuring of the company, to merge McLaren Racing Limited and McLaren Automotive Limited into a single parent company: the McLaren Group.
