Aston Martin close to IPO on the London Stock Exchange

According to a report from Sky News, Aston Martin is close to announcing plans to go public with an IPO on the London Stock Exchange. A listing on the New York Stock Exchange has also reportedly been considered. In December of last year, news broke that the company's owners had hired financial advisory firm Lazard to prepare for a potential offering.

The report suggests that the British automaker is looking at an offering of $1.29 billion (£1 billion) in shares and an overall company valuation of around $6.44 billion (£5 billion). An Intention To Float statement could be filed as early as next week, says Sky.

Last year was good for Aston Martin, with a total of 5,117 vehicles sold globally, a 58 percent jump from 2016. The company reported pre-tax profits of nearly $112 million (£87 million) in 2017. And it is working on a flurry of new products such as the Valkyrie supercar, an upcoming SUV, the new DBS Superleggera (shown above), and even an ultra-exclusive, real-life James Bond gadget-laden DB5.

As of right now, Aston Martin's largest investors are Italy's Investindustrial and Kuwait's Investment Dar. Daimler also holds a sizable stake.