KTM is not buying Husky.
The CEO Stefan Pierer backed by Indian company Baja which has a major shareholding in KTM, are buying it.
Hell for Leather is reporting that KTM CEO Stefan Pierer is finalizing a deal to acquire BMW?s subsidiary offroad motorcycle marque, Husqvarna, via Pierer Industries AG. Pierer is part owner in KTM through shares in Cross AG, which is also backed by Indian moto giant Bajaj. It was originally thought that KTM was vying to acquire the small motor maker outright, but as more information has come in, the situation has gotten more nuanced.
HFL goes on to quote Nieuwsmotor?s Iwan van der Valk on how the deal is apparently going down:
?It?s not KTM that is buying Husqvarna, but KTM?s CEO and part-owner Stefan Pierer. He bought it with his ?other? company Pierer Industries AG. This is not connected to Cross AG, the owner company in which both Pierer and Bajaj hold shares. The next six months will be spent looking how Husqvarna can cooperate with KTM but a new model is already promised to revealed at the 2013 EICMA in november.?
Others are weighing in on the deal, concluding that this is less about one offroad focused company buying another, but instead about a bigger play from Bajaj. From moto journalist Mark Gardiner:
?KTM?s a great, but small, company. It?s easy to see the impending purchase of Husqvarna for what it is, another move by the big Indian motorcycle company, Bajaj ? which already owns a big piece of KTM ? to diversify its portfolio of brands, manufacturing capability, and design talent.?
The move comes as a surprise from a BMW observer point of view. BMW?s investment in the brand was not insubstantial and it seems like their efforts to truly grow the marque were just really getting started. Perhaps BMW thought it better to stay focused on its own lineup of motorcycles and leave the niche motorcycles to others. Stay tuned as we keep tabs on this developing story.
