In late September, the Financial Times newspaper claimed that Apple was considering either a full acquisition of McLaren or a strategic investment in the Formula 1 carmaker. The New York Times and Bloomberg reported separately that talks were underway, noting that it was more than likely that Apple would eventually choose to make a significant investment in the company rather than acquire it. As soon as the news was published, the British car firm denied that both companies had sat at the same table in order to reach an agreement that would benefit both parties.
But two months later, it turns out those reports were correct. In an interview given to Reuters by the head of McLaren Automotive, Mike Flewitt, he claims McLaren had discussions with Apple, but stated that the talks did not progress positively. In addition, it has also ruled out a possible purchase offer by Apple.
There was no purchase attempt by Apple. They visited us, we talked, we talked about what they have done, we talked about what we have done. We were never able to reach a possible win-win agreement.
When the British team came out to deny possible purchase rumors, claimed they were not in negotiations with Apple to make a significant investment in the company, but did not deny at any time that the two companies had been in negotiations.
As we informed you a couple of months ago, Apple's interest in launching its own vehicle has been canceled, at least momentarily, cancellation that came shortly after the publication of this rumor, which could indicate that the last trick that Apple wanted to play was to partner with a prestigious team in order to carry out the ambitious project of launching a vehicle under its acronyms.