Troubled
Pininfarina continues to shrink away, and most recently
has exercised the 'put' option that allows it to force
its French partner Bolloré Group to purchase its 50
percent stake in Véhicules Electriques Pininfarina
Bolloré (VEPB).
The sale of
its half of the ambitious zero-emission city car project
will raise 10 million euros for Pininfarina, cash that
is needed as the company struggles to stay afloat. At
the end of last month when signing off the 2010 accounts
the board of directors was noncommittal about the design
and engineering firm's ability to say afloat, saying in
a statement that while there are "positive
signs of improvement in the company’s business trends
and, at the same time, some lingering questions about
the ability of the Group and the Company to continue
operating based on the going concern assumption." The
directors added that they have "reasonable
expectation that the group and the company will still
have adequate resources to continue operating in the
foreseeable future."
The sale of its stake in VEPB
is the latest twist in the "Bluecar"
project which had been struggling for momentum with a
dark cloud hanging over the whole enterprise until early
last month when a deal was signed to build 4,000 units
for a Paris car sharing scheme. On March 9,
Pininfarina
signed a preliminarily agreement with Cecomp, Bolloré
and VEPB that involves the leasing of certain of its
business operations and infrastructure that will be
required to build the Bluecar, until December 31, 2013.
The final agreement will be executed once the procedure
required by the labor unions is completed.
The business
operations to be handed over by Pininfarina include the
Bairo Canavese plant with its equipment as well as
employment contracts of 57 staff. Over the period of the
agreement Pininfarina will receive 14 million euros with
the plant being used to manufacture 4,000 electric cars.
These cars will be used by the Bolloré Group for a car
sharing services that will launch in the autumn in Paris
and in 40 neighboring municipalities. As struggling
Pininfarina put it in a press release on March 9: "The
success of this pilot project is particularly important
for Pininfarina in terms of its future developmental and
industrial impact on the possible production of electric
automobiles on a larger scale."
Pininfarina subsequently announced that it had
"exercised the put option it held pursuant to the
contractual stipulations of the agreement executed with
the Bolloré Group in September 2010, by which it sold to
its French partner its interest in the 50-50 joint
venture called Véhicules Electriques Pininfarina
Bolloré." With the gearing up towards production of the Bluecar
now getting the green light, the stake sale is expected to
close within the next fortnight.
