Canadian Harley-Davidson reps says it’s too early to know what the purchase by Harley-Davidson of the MV Agusta Group will mean for motorcyclists in this country.
H-D announced Aug. 8 that it has finalized its purchase of the privately-held Italian company. Harley bought 100 per cent of the MV Agusta Group, which includes the Cagiva brand, for $108 million U.S. The purchase also price settles an existing bank debt of $69 owed by the Italian company.
Harley-Davidson has named Matt Levatich as managing director of the MV Agusta Group. Levatich, 43, joined Harley-Davidson in 1994 and has served in a variety of roles, including significant positions in Harley-Davidson Europe sales and marketing, based in England.
Deeley Harley-Davidson (Harley’s Canadian importer) PR specialist Alex Carroni told CMG that Harley’s presence in the Eurosportbike line won’t cause ripples on these shores, at least not yet. "At this stage, the primary focus of the transaction is to expand Harley-Davidson Inc’s presence and footprint in Europe. It is too early for speculations as to whether or not MV Agusta or Cagiva will be brought into the Canadian market at this point in time."
Editor ‘arris had asked some more pointed questions to Deeley’s big cheese Ric Marrero at a recent press evening in Montreal, but sadly ‘arris was a tad drunk and forgot to take notes, but seems to remember that "it sounded something similar to what Alex said" …
