MV Agusta concludes creditor debt

Italian motorcycle manufacturer MV Agusta has announced it has settled all outstanding debt with its creditors and, with the recent arrival of KTM as a partner, is facing the future with great optimism.

A recent company press release states that a court in Varese, northern Italy, has declared the procedure to settle the creditor debts as resolved, while all other obligations under the process have been settled.

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Following a protracted series of ownership changes and financial instability, MV Agusta was faced with bankruptcy in 2016 and called on the financial protection of Italy’s ‘Concordato Preventivo in Continuità Aziendale’ law. Translating roughly as ‘arrangement with creditors in business continuity’, the measure essentially placed MV’s creditors’ repayments on hold while the search for fresh investment continued.

The UK-Russian firm COMSAR Invest, a part of the Black Ocean Group managed by Russia’s Sardarov family, then acquired a 25 per cent stake in MV Agusta in mid-2017, after Mercedes-AMG decided to exit the motorcycle business.

The Sardarovs have had full control of MV Agusta since 2019, with Timur Sardarov serving as CEO since 2018, Massimo Bordi appointed Deputy General Director and the previous CEO, Giovanni Castiglioni – son of the late Claudio Castiglioni – advising the business as a consultant.

The Castiglioni family had first acquired MV Agusta back in 1992, and has been entwined with the firm's history ever since, with periods of ownership by Proton and Harley-Davidson along they way, as well as the 25 per cent stake acquired by Mercedes-AMG.

Now the recent stake in the business made by KTM has given MV Agusta a fresh injection of capital, while the Austrian company, headed by Stefan Pierer, will assist with MV’s supply chain and take over purchasing responsibilities, while also gaining exclusive distribution rights to the North American market.

Timur Sardarov said that with the conclusion of the creditor debt and obligations, and the arrival of KTM as a significant stakeholder, MV Agusta has successfully navigated a difficult phase of the company’s history.

“Since my arrival at MV Agusta, the settlement of the Composition with Creditors has been one of my main objectives, in order to regain the trust of our clients and our suppliers,” he said. “Despite the negative effects of the pandemic, the strong increase in the cost of raw materials and the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the engagement and the professionalism of MV Agusta’s management brought this important result home.

“We must now look at the future with renewed confidence, comforted by the success of our new models. The partnership with KTM AG is already bringing new energy to our business on all fronts, from the production of new models and the expansion of our dealer network to the improvement of service quality for our clients.

“Our dark years are over, as we have finally created the conditions for MV Agusta to write a new chapter in the history of motorcycling.”