KTM and MV Agusta already have a recent partnership, under which KTM will distribute and promote MV Agusta motorcycles in USA, Canada and Mexico. If latest rumours are to be believed, that partnership is set to be expanded with KTM acquiring majority stake in MV Agusta.

Latest rumours from Europe point to the fact that KTM may be looking to acquire Italian luxury motorcycle brand MV Agusta. And this is expected to be an extension of the partnership between the two brands. In September 2022, MV Agusta and KTM AG, a subsidiary of Pierer Mobility, signed a commercial agreement that allows KTM to distribute and promote MV Agusta motorcycles in the USA, Canada and Mexico. Now, latest reports indicate that the Austrian brand is interested in acquiring a controlling stake in MV Agusta, and then a majority of the company by next year, and then acquiring full control by 2024.

According to these rumours, KTM intends to keep production of the MV Agusta motorcycles in Italy, while the management of the company may be moved to Austria. Now, this may prove to be a shot in the arm for MV Agusta, which has been struggling to stay afloat since 2008. MV Agusta was founded in 1945, and during its heydays in the 1950s and ‘60s, the Italian brand was known as much for its performance-oriented motorcycles, as its racing history.

The Varese-headquartered Italian brand has changed ownership several times over in the past 20-odd years. In 2004, Malaysian car brand Proton acquired 65 per cent stake in MV Agusta, and just a year later sold that stake to Italian financial holding company GEVI S.p.A. & Harley-Davidson acquired MV Agusta in 2008, but even that didn’t last long, as subsequent investments from Mercedes-AMG. Since 2018, Timur Sardarov, MV Agusta’s current CEO has been trying to bring the brand back to the level it was in the past.

The acquisition by KTM, if it does come through, could bode well for the Italian marquee. MV Agusta is known for making performance-oriented luxury motorcycles, which are known as much for their radical design, as well as for their performance. The latest rumours speculate that with the backing of KTM, MV Agusta could once again see a revival, more so in racing, with a possible debut in MotoGP in future. With India’s Bajaj Auto having stake in Pierer Mobility, KTM’s parent company, the acquisition could possibly result in finally seeing MV Agusta once again make a comeback in the Indian market, but even if that were to happen, it’s at least a couple of years away.

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