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Family Business Roundup: Mahindra and Mahindra, Sabanci, and DMCI

By Michael Finnigan

Mahindra & Mahindra to acquire Italian car designer Pininfarina 

Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra, owned by the eponymous family, is working to present a formal offer for Pininfarina in time for the Italian car designer's shareholder meeting next week, according to Reuters.

The Mumbai-based company is expected to have the backing of Pininfarina's controlling shareholder Pincar, which owns 76% of the firm, but would still need to win the blessing of Pininfarina's creditor banks.

Shares in Pininfarina were suspended this week after increasing more than 11%. It has been speculated that the deal has already pushed the stock up by 50% in the last month.

Pininfarina was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930 and is responsible for designing some of Ferrari's most iconic cars, including the Berlinetta Boxer and Ferrari enzo.

Mahindra & Mahindra is India's largest maker of sports utility cars and is headed by third-generation Anand Mahindra.

The firm posted revenues of $16.7 billion in 2013. 

Sabanci family applies to sell 7.7% stake in Yunsa

Four members of Turkey's Sabanci family have applied to sell a 7.7% stake in wool maker Yunsa, according to a regulatory filing this week.

The Sabanci family has a 57.7% stake in the diversified conglomerate Sabanci Holding, which among other assets controls one of Turkey's largest banks, Akbank.

Through Sabanci Holding, the eponymous family owns a 57.8% stake in Yunsa, which produces and exports worsted wool fabrics in Turkey and Europe.

Shares at Yunsa have traded 1.66% higher since the news broke, according to Reuters.

DMCI reports 43% drop in 2014 net income

Philippine infrastructure conglomerate DCMI, owned by the Consunji family, has announced a 43% drop in net income for 2014 to PHP 10.77 billion ($275 million).

According to a disclosure on the Philippine Stock Exchange, DMCI said the drop was due to the steep fall in one-time gains to PHP519 million last year from PHP8.36 billion in 2013.

However, the 60-year-old conglomerate said its core income had dropped by 3% to PHP10.26 billion from the level in the same period in 2013.

“The resilience of our engineering diversification strategy was apparent in 2014. Despite the weaker-than-expected results of two business segments, we were able to stabilise the overall profitability of our investment portfolio,” DMCI Holdings president Isidro Consunji said in the filing.

DCMI Holdings was founded by David Consunji in 1954. The 93-year-old has been nicked named the “father of construction” in the Philippines, as his company has done more than most to transform the country's skylines. 

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