Pininfarina Family May Lose Control in the Company

The Pininfarina is set to lose control of its world-famous label after the company announced that it will propose a €100 million increase in capital. The reason for this drastic move is to finance its ballooning debt which increased from €129.9 million in 2006 to €185.4 million last year.

By issuing that stock, the Pininfarina family would effectively lose their 55 percent shareholding through dilution, although the company said it was still too early to speculate on how much/little the family would hold after the capital increase. One of the new investors is French battery guru Vincent Bollore with who Pininfarina will commence building an electric car in 2010. This is the product the company is pinning its hopes on a turnaround on, four-seater, with an anticipated production run of 15,000 per annum.

Last year the company suffered major losses to the tune of €114.9 million which is more than double the €21.9 million loss of 2006.