Mahindra acquires Italian design house Pininfarina

Mahindra has announced the acquisition of Italian auto styling house and engineering company Pininfarina. Negotiations began earlier this year, but the deal has finally been sealed.

The buyout sees Mahindra & Mahindra and Tech Mahindra, the IT, networks and engineering solutions arm of the group, taking a 76% controlling stake in Pininfarina at a price of 1.1 euro per share, with plans to make an open offer for the remaining 24% at a later point.

The acquisition will give Mahindra access to the host of high-end styling and engineering services provided by the Italian company, while Pininfarina will benefit from an ability to leverage Tech Mahindra’s presence across 90 countries and access to about 780 customers – the aim is to upsell and cross-sell to the combined client base that will now be available to both sides.

Mahindra says that Pininfarina will continue to remain an independent company, with Paolo Pininfarina continuing as the chairman of its board.

Founded in 1930, Pininfarina has designed numerous vehicles for world renowned manufacturers, and the model list includes Ferraris, Fiats, Alfa Romeos and Maseratis. The design house also penned the original Jaguar XJ6 and Rolls-Royce Camargue, and in recent times, notable creations have been the BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupe and Pininfarina Sergio (which became the limited-run Ferrari Sergio).

The decision by the Turin-based firm to sell out is no surprise – it hasn’t been doing well commercially, losing money in 10 of the last 11 years, due to debt and a dwindling business to build cars for other companies.

Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.