Stephan Zöchling, CEO of exhaust manufacturer Remus, was appointed as an expert for restructuring in 2025 in the KTM board of directors. Now Stefan Pierer has sued him because Zöchling offers pledged shares of Pierer for sale.
It just keeps on at KTM. According to the Viennese national newspaper “Der Standard”, Stefan Pierer, Co-CEO of Pierer Mobility AG, and Stephan Zöchling, chairman of the Supervisory Board of Pierer Mobility AG and also a member of the board of directors of Pierer Industrie AG, have received a breeze about a loan of € 80 million.
According to Der Standard, Stephan Zöchling Pierer Konzesellschaft MBH (another company of Pierer) provided a loan of approximately 80 million euros via his Dabepo Holding AG in the fall of 2024. Pierer Industrie AG pledged shares of this value to Dobepo as collateral. This loan had to be repaid at the end of June 2025.
According to Zöchling, however, Pierer has now violated the agreement because it did not inform the Indian car manufacturer and KTM co-owner Bajaj about pre-emptive rights and put options (rights to purchase shares within a certain time window at a fixed price) and has therefore violated the agreement. Zöchling/Dobepo therefore offers to buy the pledged shares of Pierer industry.
Pierer is of a different opinion. The company of the Pierer Group has therefore filed a lawsuit at the commercial court in Vienna, with the argument that the loan is not yet due and that Zöchling/Dabepo is therefore not authorized to sell the Pierer shares because they are not theirs.
In addition to the main task to raise 600 million euros from investors before 23 May to implement the restructuring plan, and to purchase additional capital to resume production on July 28, there is now a legal dispute with a board member.
– Thanks for information from Motorfreaks.