The marriage between KTM and MV Agusta was short-lived. In Mattighofen, every effort is currently being made to get more capital on the balance sheet, which is why the MV Agusta brand is now being resold.
On November 29, KTM AG and two subsidiaries had to file for so-called insolvency proceedings at the regional court in Ried im Innkreis, Upper Austria. At the end of last week, trustee Peter Vogl said that based on the information available so far, he is confident that bankruptcy can be prevented.
But KTM has debts worth 1.8 billion euros, of which 1.3 billion euros with 1,800 different banks. All creditors must waive 70 percent of their claims. A first meeting of creditors is scheduled for December 20.
On February 25, it will be decided whether KTM AG can be saved through the restructuring process. By that date, the stock of 130,000 motorcycles should also be significantly reduced, as production in Mattighofen will be closed in January and February.
In addition, every effort is being made to get more capital on the balance sheet. That is why the MV Agusta brand is now being sold again. On November 22, 2022, KTM AG acquired a 25.1% stake from Russian oligarch and oil magnate Rashid Sardarov. To this end, KTM AG implemented a capital increase worth 20 million euros and there was talk of 10 million euros as the purchase price for the 25.1% interest.
However, it was always clear that the resurrection of the ailing MV Agusta Motor SpA in Varese would require enormous investments. In the past 20 years, MV has regularly been in the news due to bankruptcies, factory closures and strange decisions after the luxury brand was purchased by Cagiva founder Castiglioni.
Even under the new owner Sardarov, the situation did not improve significantly. Only under the umbrella of KTM AG did MV Agusta seem to be heading in the right direction again. Hubert Trunkenpolz, member of the KTM board of directors, was appointed general manager and set himself the target of selling at least 5,000-6,000 MV motorcycles by 2025.
In addition to the fact that Pierer could now offer three- and four-cylinder models for the first time, he wanted the illustrious brand to soon play a leading role in international motorsport again. Last summer there was even talk that MV Agusta would participate in the MotoGP in 2027.
Pierer and Trunkenpolz wanted to keep MV Agusta as an independent brand and, unlike Husqvarna and GASGAS, not divert it from the KTM platforms. Production therefore remained in Varese, but sales were taken over by the Pierer Group. MV Agusta motorcycles are increasingly sold through multi-brand dealers.
“There will be no shift in MV production to Austria,” Hubert Trunkenpolz had already assured two years ago. MV Agusta outside Italy and away from the historic factory in Varese, such a concept would be doomed to die.
However, the resurrection of MV Agusta turned out to be a tough one. In 2023, only 1,852 MV motorcycles were sold and although that was almost double the number in 2022, when the number was just under 1,000, this was still far from the numbers envisioned for 2025.
Due to the insolvency proceedings, MV Agusta is no longer considered a strategically important asset for the Austrian company. That is why MV Agusta will have to stand on its own two feet again in the future. Union members of the CISL in Varese have now confirmed that KTM is withdrawing completely.
KTM management has not yet confirmed the spin-off of the MV Agusta brand. Other information relevant to the stock exchange will not be disclosed to avoid further unrest. There has been enough disturbing news in recent weeks that has caused the share price to plummet to 11.60 euros. For this reason, KTM management is currently maintaining the utmost secrecy.
However, it has been leaked from Italy that the Austrians are doing everything they can to secure the future existence of MV Agusta Motor SpA, although no one can yet estimate who will own the company in the future.
Stefan Pierer has recently assured several times that he does not want to let his life’s work, KTM, go bankrupt. But so far, major shareholder Bajaj in India, the Pierer Group’s long-term strategic partner, has apparently not committed any capital injection.
– Thanks for information from Motorfreaks.