BackCar design company head Pininfarina dies in accident
Car design company head Pininfarina dies in accident
PremiumFatal mishap: A file picture of Andrea Pininfarina. He was chairman and CEO of Pininfarina SpA, which was founded in 1930. Photograph: Giuseppe Cacace/AFP
(Giuseppe Cacace/AFP)
Milan: Andrea Pininfarina, head of the family company which designs Ferraris, Fiats and the Ford Focus, died in a road crash in the early hours of Thursday near Turin, Italy, riding his Vespa scooter.
“Italy, Turin and the Fiat group have lost a business figure who knew how to follow and develop the work of his grandfather Pinin and his father Sergio," Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, chairman of Fiat SpA and Ferrari SpA said in a statement.
Andrea Pininfarina was born in Turin, the centre of Italy’s car industry, on 26 June 1957 and joined the family business in 1983 after gaining a degree in mechanical engineering. He was married with three children.
The Pininfarina SpA company has designed iconic Ferraris such as the Dino and Testarossa, Alfa Romeo cars for Fiat and the Focus marque for Ford. News of the chief executive’s death prompted market speculation that ownership—currently in the hands of the family with 55% stake—could quickly change.
The price of shares in the company jumped so high they had to be suspended in Milan for excessive gains and were indicated up over 13% pending a resumption of trade.
“The market thinks that ownership change will speed up," said one trader. The family already plans to cut its stake to around 30% through a share sale which the firm hopes will raise €100 million (Rs648 crore) that will be used to develop a new electric car to be launched in 2009. French financier Vincent Bollore could take part, investing up to €30 million.
Other potential investors include the son of Ferrari’s founder, and Ratan Tata.
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