Not that long ago, we told you KTM had a distribution deal with MV Agusta, selling the Italian brand’s bikes in the Austrian company’s North American dealerships. And after that happened, the old rumor mill started working overtime, suggesting KTM or its parent company Pierer Mobility might just buy out the whole of MV Agusta.
That hasn’t happened … quite. At least, it hasn’t happened yet, but today in Europe, Pierer Mobility announced “In November 2022, KTM AG will acquire a 25.1% stake in MV Agusta Motor S.p.A., based in Varese (Italy), by way of a capital increase.”
This creates a tangle of ownership that is almost impossible to sort out. Right now, MV Agusta is owned partly by KTM, and also partly by Black Ocean Group, a mysterious investment group comprised of rich Russians and Brits. Previously, it was owned by the Castiglioni family, then Harley-Davidson before that; H-D actually bought it from the Castiglioni clan before the Great Recession of ’08, and sold it back to them not long afterwards, for nothing.
KTM itself is part of Pierer Mobility, which is majority owned by Stefan Pierer, but a very large minority stake is held by India’s Bajaj Auto. Then you get Husqvarna and GasGas tied to KTM, not to mention parts manufacturers like WP, and then there are overseas deals with the CFMoto factory to build KTM-designed bikes in China, not to mention the Bajaj-built bikes in India.
On top of this, MV Agusta has its own overseas deals, with China about to start production of the MV-branded Lucky Explorer 5.5 adventure bike.
Clear as mud? Such is the tangled web we weave, when we start building motorcycles overseas wherever it’s cheap, and taking money from investors wherever we can find it.
None of this will probably matter to MV Agusta fans, who will instead take heart from the following words in the press release:
“Within the framework of this strategic partnership between the two European motorcycle manufacturers, PIERER Mobility will provide MV Agusta with supply chain support and take over the purchasing. Furthermore, in the course of this cooperation, MV Agusta will partly distribute its product range via PIERER Mobility’s worldwide distribution network.”
Translation: Soon, very soon, you’ll be able to buy an MV Agusta motorcycle easily in Canada. We think.
[…] “Right now, MV Agusta is owned partly by KTM, and also partly by Black Ocean Group, a mysterious investment group comprised of rich Russians and Brits,” comments a report from CanadaMotoGuide. […]
[…] “Right now, MV Agusta is owned partly by KTM, and also partly by Black Ocean Group, a mysterious investment group comprised of rich Russians and Brits,” comments a report from CanadaMotoGuide. […]