Moto Morini deal falls over
The proposed acquisition has now fallen over, leaving the Italian icon with a very uncertain future
On the outside, trying to do business in Italy is a bit like shooting bullets in the dark: there's always an element of unpredictability. A bit like the Italian soccer team…
Here's the sorry saga of Moto Morini as another case-in-point. Just two months ago, we reported that Paolo Berlusconi, the brother of the billionaire industrialist and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, had reached a deal to buy the historic and impoverished marque for 2.5 million Euros ($3.6m), which included the factory, rights to all the motorcycles and designs, and equipment.
Paolo Berlusconi, who already owns Garelli Motorcycles, then set up a company called New Garelli to make the acquisition happen, but that deal has now been shelved.
In a statement, New Garelli cites an inability to reach an agreement with the unions as the main reason for backing out of the deal.
Just where that now leaves Moto Morini is unclear, but things are now looking pretty grim.
As for Paolo, there was also some talk about him taking MV Agusta off Harley-Davidson's books, but we'll have to wait and see on that one.
Meanwhile, in other news out of Italy, Benelli, owned by Chinese manufacturer Qiaonjiang, has parted company with its CEO and technical director Pierluigi Marconi. Australian Motorcycle News reports that Marconi became frustrated at continually seeing new designs mothballed because of a lack of investment.
At the moment, the company is only producing 899cc and 1130cc three-cylinder engines, based on a design that is now 13 years old.
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