Mahindra to purchase controlling stake in Pininfarina

Tech Mahindra and Mahindra & Mahindra have jointly entered into an agreement with Pincar S.r.l., to purchase a controlling stake in Pininfarina S.p.A.

As part of the agreement, Tech Mahindra and M&M shall purchase 76.06 % of Pininfarina shares from the current controlling shareholder Pincar S.r.l. at a price of Euro 1.1 per share. This investment by Tech Mahindra and M&M shall be done via a joint venture company ("JVCo"), whose ownership shall be held 60 % by Tech Mahindra and 40 % by M&M.

This will be followed by an open offer for all the remaining ordinary shares of Pininfarina, at the same purchase price paid for the shares held by Pincar.  A rights issue to infuse funds into the design & styling major will also be executed before the end of 2016.

Pininfarina will continue to remain an independent company, listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, with Mr. Paolo Pininfarina continuing as the Chairman of its board.

With the acquisition of the Italian design house, Mahindra hopes to get a foothold in industries such as automotive styling, vehicle design & development and reinforced body engineering capability. It is also expected to augment Tech Mahindra's Transportation, Aerospace & Industrial Design offerings. Additionally, Tech Mahindra also hopes to benefit from the designer's focused presence in Italy, Germany, the US and China.

Pininfarina will hope to get the ability to leverage Tech Mahindra's presence across 90 countries and access to about 780 customers.