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| The late Sergio Pininfarina + Ferrari Testarossa |
Iconic Italian carrozzeria Pininfarina has
been saved the ignominy of bankruptcy after Indian conglomerate Mahindra &
Mahindra bought the company for €168 million.
Tech Mahindra, and Mahindra & Mahindra
Group will create a joint venture company to ensure Pinifarina stays in
business – a business which has been unprofitable for the last ten years, and
whose debts have grown to €52.7 million.
The Indian Group will pay €33 million for
the design house; invest €20 million in the ongoing business; and guarantee
€114.7 million to its creditors. These are big numbers, but as Paolo
Pininfarina said at the completion of the takeover, “We are now owned by a
group valued at €15.6 billion, and that will help us develop new business and
provide support to our new parent.”
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| Paolo Pininfarina and Tech Mahindra's CEO, CP Gurnani |
New business has been difficult to find as
more and more carmakers bring all their design in-house. Some, like VWAG have
acquired famous names, like Ital Design, which was bought by the German
carmaker in 2013.
Pininfarina’s share price has dropped 95%
since 2007, but Mahindra & Mahindra intends to retain Pininfarina’s listing
on the Milan stock exchange – proving that linking your developing pan-Asian
business with an Italian style leader is still worth big bucks in terms of
image, and potential to enhance the Indian brand.
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| 2006 Ferrari P4/5 |
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