[RahulNagaraj]

Austrian bike brand, KTM AG, is said to have formed a new strategic partnership with Italian sports bike manufacturer MV Agusta.

The Austrian bike brand, part of the Pierer Mobility Group, will be acquiring a 25.1 per cent stake in MV Agusta sometime this month by way of a capital increase.



As part of the deal, KTM will support MV Agusta's supply chain operations while also taking over purchasing from the Italian brand. This will allow MV Agusta to optimise its resources and costs while also leveraging KTM's larger operation scale.

The partnership between the two brands could also lead to MV Agusta distributing its product range using Pierer Mobility's worldwide distribution network.

Source: Autocar India

Link to Team-BHP news

[Nikhildrao]

So, after the failed attempt to acquire Ducati, KTM goes for the next best thing in elite Italian bike manufacturer. Hope MV finds stability and success under KTM.

[neil.jericho]

Thanks to a few little birdies, I got the news of this partnership a few days before it came out in the media. I have to give credit to KTM and MV Agusta, they were pretty tight lipped about the strategic partnership through the purchase of a 25.1% stake. Everyone was confident that any upcoming news regarding a KTM and MV Agusta partnership would only revolve around distribution in the North America market (which was old news).

Im happy for MV Agusta, as a company. There are a lot of synergies that come with having a big brand on board. The capital infusion will certainly help. The only way that MV Agusta can go is up. Win win win for MV Agusta, KTM and customers all over the world.

[adwaith]

Looks like the deal has gone through.

KTM AG (part of the Pierer Mobility group) has officially inked a deal with MV Agusta, acquiring a 25.1% stake in the Varese-based marque by way of a €30 million capital increase. This deal has also entailed some structural changes within MV Agusta, with two senior management personnel from KTM now part of the Board of Directors.

This deal effectively enables MV Agusta to leverage KTM’s larger supply chain network. The Austrian marque, in turn, would take over the purchasing operations for the Italian company. This should help MV Agusta (a relatively small and financially troubled company) optimise its costs due to KTM’s relatively larger scale of operations. This strategic alliance will also pave the way for MV Agusta to partly retail its products through Pierer Mobility’s worldwide distribution network.

Timur Sardarov, CEO of MV Agusta Motor S.p.A. says, “The principal goals of our alliance will be the consolidation of our core business and the production of high-performance motorcycles in the premium segment. The agreement will strengthen our brand in a complex and challenging marketplace.”

Given that Bajaj Auto owns a 49.9% stake in PTW Holding AG, the parent company of Pierer Mobility, it is not entirely out of the realm of possibilities, especially considering that the Indian two-wheeler marketplace is slowly but surely warming up to the idea of larger capacity motorcycles.

Source: The Hindu