TURIN, Italy — Pininfarina, the legendary coachbuilder that was founded here in 1930 and has counted marques from Ferrari to Ford as its clients, has announced that it will stop taking contracts for new work after the current ones expire in 2011. Worse, the founding family has been forced by creditors to sell its majority stake in the company.

Pininfarina will henceforth focus on building electric cars, the company said.

The U.K.'s Times reported Friday that a banking syndicate has rescheduled the company's debt of nearly $840 million, helping it avoid bankruptcy, provided the family sells its majority 50.6 percent stake. Pininfarina's stock value dropped by more than two-thirds in 2008.

The paper named Vincent Bolloré of France as a prospective buyer. He is currently involved in a joint venture with the Italian company to build the B0 electric car. That product is due to debut in 2010 and go on sale in 2011. Ratan Tata of India's Tata Group is named as a long-shot candidate to buy the stake. The Pininfarina family will reportedly be allowed to keep about 4.5 percent of the holding company.

Pininfarina is currently building the Alfa Romeo Spider and Brera and the Ford Focus cabriolet-coupe. Sales of the products have dropped precipitously in the current economic climate and the Times reported that Pininfarina will "unwind" its manufacturing deals with the companies as part of the restructuring program.

The company sustained a blow earlier this year when the 51-year-old CEO and grandson of the founder, Andrea Pininfarina, was killed in a road accident in August. He was succeeded by his younger brother.

Inside Line says: An ignominious turn of events for the great automotive name. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent