Apple negotiates purchase of McLaren by 6.35 bi R$, says paper

London-Apple is negotiating to buy the British automaker McLaren, an operation that could reach 1.5 billion pounds (about 6.35 billion R$) revealed on Wednesday the newspaper "Financial Times".
The interest of Apple by McLaren would be due to a strategic investment to enter in the automotive industry and accelerate plans to produce an electric car.
The McLaren Technology Group, which includes the Formula 1 team, would provide the Apple experience in areas such as integrated information systems in vehicles and materials for the body.
The contacts between both companies began months ago, according to sources close to the negotiations quoted by the "Financial Times". However, there is still no agreement for the acquisition of the automaker.
If the operation is completed, would be the largest purchase ever made by Apple since August 2014. Until then, the highest paid by American company in an acquisition was the $ 3 billion (about 9.5 billion R$ in current quotation) by the Beats.
The company founded by Steve Jobs and today run by Tim Cook never explicitly confirmed the existence of the so-called Project Titan, which would aim to develop an electric car for sale. However, various information arising in recent years indicate that Apple hired dozens of engineers and specialists in automobiles, electrical systems and batteries.
One of those employees was Chris Porritt, former Vice President of Tesla Motors, in charge of vehicle engineering.
The project could be accelerated with the acquisition of McLaren, which sells its luxury vehicles at prices close to 1 million euros. In 2015, the British automaker produced only 1,654 cars, but recorded revenue of 450,000,000 pounds (R$ 2.4 billion).
Over the next six years, McLaren has committed to invest 1 billion pounds (5.4 billion R$) in innovation and development.