The private equity takeover of the auto-industry continues. And this time they've got James Bond's favorite ride. Jalopnik reports straight from the Ford of Europe conference call on which it the deal to sell Aston Martin was just announced.

We're on the conference call right now where we're being told FoMoCo will be selling Aston Martin for just over $925 million to a consortium composed of ProDrive's David Richards, John Sinders, Investment Dar and Kuwaiti investment entity Adeem Investment Co. But even after the sale, which is expected to close in the second quarter, Lewis Booth, the President of Ford Europe and PAG claims there will be "a continued relationship between Ford and Aston Martin."

This follows the rule that our private equity friend explained to us over too many drinks last week--that most of the interest in buying in auto companies will hit on smaller companies or divisions with "brand names" that can be turned around quickly.

We seem to recall that Ford paid something like $100 million to have its products placed throughout the latest James Bond movie, which is apparently about 10% of the total value of the entire Aston Martin company. Anyone want to bet that the new owners might not be so generous? So what do you think 007 will be driving in the next film?

Aston Martin Sold To Kuwaiti Investment Company For $925 Million [Jalopnik]