Mahindra and Mahindra to buy Italian car design firm Pininfarina
The car designer said, “Negotiations between controlling shareholder Pincar, creditor banks and Mahindra... over the acquisition of Pinifarina’s shares owned by Pincar and debt restructuring never broke off,”
We remind you that back in March we heard controlling shareholder Pincar saying that Mahindra & Mahindra is interested in acquiring the troubled design house. The two parties actually reached an agreement several months later, but the creditors were not pleased with the deal as it stipulated erasing half of the €87 million debt.
The Cambiano-based Pininfarina, which is known for custom car designing, has designed Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Peugeot, Fiat, GM, Lancia and Maserati. The company has been incurring losses for many years now and its net debt stood at 52.7 million euros at the end of June.
Founded in 1930, Pininfarina is known for its association with fellow Italian sports car maker, Ferrari. The company has designed close to 100 models of Ferrari; one of the famous models being the Ferrari P4/5. The one-off sports car made by Ferrari was redesigned by Pininfarina for film director and stock exchange magnate James Glickenhaus.
Mahindra and Mahindra is known for acquiring international brands. In 2011, the company acquired a majority stake in SsangYong Motor Company. The company was also keen on buying British brand Aston Martin in 2012 but later withdrew.
