Clarity needed soon

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Stefan Pierer is likely to lose influence at KTM, CFMoto (left) and partner Bajaj - here Rajiv Bajaj (right) - have already shown interest in injecting money.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Philip Platzer, KTM, CF Moto)

Fresh capital is needed for KTM to have a future and for the restructuring to succeed - this much has been clear for some time about the initial situation at the insolvent motorcycle manufacturer. What many people are less aware of is how much time is running out. This is because creditors and the judge need to be convinced at the hearing on January 24 - also to ensure that the continuation of the business is given the green light once again.

Video calls, phone calls, face-to-face meetings - the last few weeks have already been an intensive appointment marathon for those responsible at KTM and also for the restructuring administrators with whom the managers of the motorcycle manufacturer have to coordinate.

90 days from the opening of insolvency proceedings to the vote on the restructuring plan
The tight schedule is breathing down everyone's neck. This is because the restructuring process with self-administration, in which KTM AG, KTM Components GmbH and KTM Forschungs & Entwicklungs GmbH are involved, is limited to a total of 90 days.

90 days that will decide whether there is still a future for the lead company in Mattighofen (Upper Austria) - and if so, what it will look like. One thing is clear: Pierer Mobility AG needs fresh money and has therefore commissioned the investment bank Citibank to reorganize the ownership structure, as the company announced late in the evening on 17 December.

What influence Stefan Pierer will have in the future remains to be seen
It remains to be seen what role Stefan Pierer will still play after this reorganization. More and more people are saying that the entrepreneur, who has built up and shaped the brand since 1991, will lose influence. But will this really happen? Much will depend on what the overall package will look like in the end and which investors are on board and in what form.

At the reporting day hearing on December 20, KTM AG restructuring administrator Peter Vogl presented three non-binding offers from potential investors to the regional court in Ried im Innkreis, one of which came from Pierer partner Bajaj from India. CFMoto from China, with whom the company has had a joint venture since 2018, in which sales activities are shared and parts of production are also carried out in Asia, is apparently also highly interested. The Hong Kong investment company FountainVest has also shown interest.

"We are working hard to ensure that this company can be continued in the long term," said Pierer Mobility and KTM AG Co-CEO Gottfried Neumeister after the three court hearings on December 20. With regard to the search for investors, he said that further interested parties were expected in January.

Liquidity secured at least until 19 January
The fact is that there is not much time left to take the talks to the next level and become concrete. Much more clarity is needed by 24 January, as the creditors will want to know concrete details about the fulfillment of the restructuring plan at the verification meeting. The insolvency judge is also examining the situation and will decide again whether the company can continue. Liquidity is secured at least until calendar week three, it is said. This ends on January 19.