autoevolution
 

Polaris Rumored to Be Interested in MV Agusta

Here's another interesting rumor that surfaced recently and which indicates that Polaris might be "in for the kill" and allegedly brew some plans with historical Italian manufacturer MV Agusta.
MV Agusta F3 800 AGO 1 photo
Photo: MV Agusta
MV Agusta fared quite well last year, at least considering the number of units sold in 2015, which went north of 9,000. The last year saw the House of Schiranna improving their sales by a whopping 30 percent, but unfortunately, the big financial picture was gloomier. Despite announcing that the margin profit per unit reached 40%, thanks to the sales of premium models, MV Agusta's books used to show happier days.

All in all, MV Agusta also accumulated debts that seemed to grow hand in hand with the business. After selling 25% of their stock to AMG, MV Agusta secured a loan to keep things afloat, but it looks like it did not solve their problems. Even more, the loan would become due in its entirety in case AMG's participation in MV Agusta dropped below 20%.

The Germans were said to be willing to buy the entire company, making a move similar to what Audi made when they bought Ducati, but Schiranna CEO Giovanni Castiglioni would not agree with losing control of the business. Even more, MV Agusta avoided filing for bankruptcy, opting instead for a continuity agreement.

Rumors in the Italian motorcycle industry saw Castiglioni searching for new partners and buying AMG out of MV Agusta, using the money from their new investors to pay the €15 million ($16.4 mil) loan from Banca Popolare di Milano, and then see what can be done to mend things.

The corporate restructuring plans see a production reduction, with the figures being named revolving around the 5,700 bikes per annum, and with other cost reductions involved by the process, trying to improve the profits.

Now, the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Serra brings another story that links Polaris to MV Agusta. Polaris is a large corporation that has more than enough money to put MV Agusta back in business the proper way, should an agreement be reached.

Polaris did the same with Victory Motorcycles and recently revived another historic brand, Indian. Polaris kept on extending in the two-wheeler business acquiring the motorcycle division of Brammo, and rebranding the Empulse machines with the Victory badge, setting off for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb this year.

It's difficult to predict what will happen with MV Agusta, but it looks like finding an investor with pockets deep enough is not going to be easy if the Castiglioni family wants to retain full control of the business. Now, if Polaris got their back, things would be entirely different, but...
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories