its stake in the company. The agreement was made after Pininfarina's value dropped 67% during 2008, with a market capitalization of about €36 million. It had total debt of €598 million at the end of November. Of that amount, €555 million was the subject of the debt restructuring agreement that was agreed on with a consortium of banks. 24 March 2009 Pincar, Pininfarina's family holding company, announced it has hired investment bank Leonardo & Co. to find a buyer for its 50.6% stake in Pininfarina per the debt restructuring agreement reached in December. 4 January 2011 Pininfarina released a statement saying that it is still gathering "possible offers from potential buyers," adding it would release more information when it was appropriate. Company sources added that the family will not sell its entire 50.7% stake but that Pincar would no longer be a majority shareholder. 14 February 2012 An agreement with creditor banks including Intesa Sanpaolo, UniCredit, Mediobanca, and Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena to restructure the net debt of 76 million euros is on track and will be reached in the coming months, said three sources close to the situation. "The debt situation is stable, and the talks are not contentious, so there is no hurry," said one of the sources, speaking anonymously. "The agreement will fix the capital structure for the foreseeable future." When finalized, the debt accord will give control of the family's 77% stake to its creditor banks, ending the Pininfarina family's ownership. The deal will close a chapter that began in 2008 when the banks swapped 180 million euros in debt in exchange for a promise of proceeds from a future sale of part of the Pininfarina's family stake. However, no takers materialized. Potential buyers were not willing to acquire a design company when they can easily contract its services, said one of the people familiar with the situation. 15 February 2012 In a statement released on 15 February, the Cambiano-based company, which owes over a million to a number of Italian banks, said its debt repayment date had been extended to 2018, from 2015. The agreement, which will be signed in the next few weeks, will also see the company take advantage of interest rates "significantly lower than [current] market rates". With the new debt restructuring deal with its creditors, Pininfarina will remain under the control of the Pininfarina family. 16 May 2012 Automotive