Mahindra & Mahindra is in talks to buy a majority stake in renowned Italian automotive design group Pininfarina, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.
Shares in Milan-listed Pininfarina, which also designs cars for Ferrari, rose more than 11 per cent to their highest since April last year after news of the talks were initially reported by Bloomberg News.
A spokesman for Pininfarina said the company did not comment on market rumours. Mahindra declined to comment.
Pininfarina’s market capitalisation as of Tuesday night was 123 million euro.
If the talks succeeded, Pininfarina could become the latest Italian industrial icon to be snapped up by an Asian buyer after China National Chemical Corp on Sunday agreed to buy into tyre-maker Pirelli in a 7.3 billion euro ($8 billion) deal.
