At the end of February, KTM seemed to have been saved from downfall, but according to the last rumors, the Pierer Mobility AG cannot pay the required 600 million euros in creditors on 23 May 2025. Now the shares must be pledged against a loan.
Pierer Mobility AG, which has been hit in serious financial problems, must raise around 600 million euros from new investors before 23 May to be able to pay 30 percent of the agreed obligations, which amount to around 1.8 billion euros.
Last night De Pierer Mobility AG announced the postponement of its financial annual report for 2024. The additional provisional key figures for the 2024 financial year will be published on 25 April 2025. In addition, the agenda for the extraordinary general meeting was amended on 25 April 2025. It was also confirmed that the investment process for the financing of the restructuring plans of the KTM Group is still running.
Pierer Mobility AG is about 75 percent in the hands of Pierer Bajaj AG, which in turn is 50.1 percent in the hands of KTM CEO Stefan Pierer and 49.9 percent of Indian partner Bajaj Auto.
The restructuring plan of Pierer Mobility AG was approved on 25 February after 90 days of insolvency procedure. The new commissioner Stephan Zöchling complained in January 2025 that some banks demanded a considerably more than 30%. In total, the debts of the ailing company amount to around 1.8 billion euros.
The Indian Bajaj Group had already contributed 150 million euros at the end of March 2025 to resume production in Mattighofen, from 17 March after an interruption of three months. On April 1, 2025, Pierermobility AG confirmed that more resources had been released for the resumption of the KTM production.
In the meantime, the negotiations on the future ownership structure of Pierer Mobility AG and KTM AG continue unabated. Due to the restructuring program, the scrapping of jobs and drastic austerity measures, KTM must be made debt -free, restored and prepared for future economic challenges.
Not in the last place, the question is who will be in charge of the ailing company in the future, which had become Europe’s largest motorcycle manufacturer more than ten years ago.
An Austrian solution, in which general manager Gottfried Neummeister together with domestic banks and investors such as Stephan Zöchling and Siegfried Wolf will play a key role, does not seem entirely excluded.
With the restructuring measures announced before 1 April, Bajaj Auto initially becomes the new majority shareholder of KTM AG. However, the final ownership structure will only become clear in June, if other large investors actually execute their intentions and invest in KTM AG!
Earlier, the KTM board of directors seemed convinced that the 600 million euros owed could be transferred to the creditors before 23 May 2025. The American participation company Apollo Global Management and BlackRock Asset Management, one of the world’s largest asset managers, also seemed willing to participate in the restructuring of KTM.
During the current discussions about the financing it became clear that the capital measures proposed by the Board of Directors and the Supervisory Board during the general meeting could not be carried out under the proposed conditions or within the planned time frame.
Restructuring manager Peter Vogl had originally planned that Pierer Mobility AG would repay a share of 30 percent of the 600 million euros within two years from 25 February. When some creditor banks were not satisfied with this part, the insolvency engine manufacturer promised to pay the 600 million euros by 23 May 2025.
Due to the changed circumstances, however, the Board of Directors and the Supervisory Board of Pierermobility AG decided on 22 April to decide the decisions announced for the extraordinary general meeting of 25 April 2025 on a normal capital increase by means of a capital increase in cash (agenda item 2) and a capital increase 3) of the agenda (agenda in Natura.
The Pierer Group reports that the company, together with its major shareholder, is working on an alternative way to raise equity that is necessary to meet the quota of the restructuring plan. During a subsequent annual general meeting, decisions will be taken on possible capital measures.
Apparently the new Pierer managers cannot yet confirm the so -called continuity assumption. This means that no financing commitments of potential investors have yet been signed.
On December 20, 2024, a meeting of creditors reported euphorically that 23 potential investors had reported to contribute to the restructuring of KTM. Two months later there was still seven or nine investors.
The battle for the survival of KTM AG took place because the financing plans drawn up by Pierer Mobility AG could not be implemented according to plan. That is why the agenda was shortened only three days before the extraordinary general meeting with two points.
A serious consequence: the ailing motorcycle manufacturer from Opper-Austria must urgently find a new solution to get 150 million euros together. The attempts to save KTM AG have taken an unpleasant turn with the news that has just come out.
During the difficult financing negotiations it became clear that the new general director, Gottfried Neummeister, the capital measures proposed by the Supervisory Board during the general meeting, cannot implement under the last agreed conditions before 23 May 2025.
At the extraordinary general meeting on Friday 25 April, it is not possible to vote on the conversion of the loan of 200 million euros from Bajaj into shares, nor can shareholders approve the issue of new shares.
But while the 200 million euros has already been transferred to the bankruptcy trustee, there is no 150 million euros, which should have contributed to the restructuring through the issue of new shares.
That is why a loan of 500 million euros must be realized under enormous time pressure by collecting shares in KTM AG. It is difficult to estimate whether the necessary negotiations with investors will be successfully completed in the near future.
In its business plan for 2025, KTM AG announced the production and sale of 230,000 motorcycles. A rather difficult task.
Investors’ confidence is declining again after a temporary peak. After the arrival of Bajaj’s 150 million euros, the share price rose by 7.7 percent to 19.70 euros on 1 April 2025. Yesterday, the Pierer share on the Viennese stock exchange closed at 12.86 euros.
– Thanks for information from Motorfreaks.