It has been a long time coming, but Varese, Italy based MV Agusta says it has now finalised its latest attempt to achieve financial stability and managed to buy back the 25 percent stake it sold to Mercedes AMG (part of the Daimler Group) in late 2014.
This latest news is confirmation of a plan first announced late last year. The deal sees ComSar Invest, an investment fund that is part of Black Ocean Group, owned by Timur Sardarov, a “Russian dynasty key player in the production of oil and gas in Eastern Europe”.
The financial details of the deal have not been disclosed, but sees MV Agusta Holding increasing the capital invested in MV Agusta Motor S.p.A., and with a quorum of creditors agreeing to the deal, it is expected that the restructuring plan will now get final approval from the Italian courts.
“MV buys back Mercedes stake”
MV Agusta Holding will control 100% of MV Agusta Motor S.p.A., with ComSar Invest as a “strong minority shareholder in the Holding company alongside a controlling stake owned by GC Holding, the investment vehicle of President Giovanni Castiglioni.
The turnaround plan started in 2016 and has been based on the repositioning of the MV Agusta brand as a “prime producer of super premium motorcycles” in lower quantities than had been the ambition previously. That plan has brought the company back to profitability.
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Giovanni Castiglioni, President - "This transaction with ComSar Invest through a capital increase and the acquisition of the shares previously held by Mercedes represents an important milestone for our plan |
Castiglioni commented: “The transaction with ComSar Invest in our holding company through a capital increase and the acquisition of the shares previously held by Mercedes AMG in MV Agusta Motor S.p.A. represents an important milestone for our plan. The main objective is the reinforcement of MV Agusta’s core business - the production of high-performance, high-end motorcycles.
“In the last 12 months the implemented measures have brought MV Agusta back in positive cash flow generation, allowing it to complete the restructuring plan and to consistently support product development and consolidation of our key markets.”
Timur Sardarov, controlling shareholder of ComSar Invest, is quoted as saying: “MV Agusta is for us the most iconic brand in the industry, a company that in the last five years has invested heavily in new product development, creating an extensive, enviable range of motorcycles, which results today in a unique asset and a foundation for a successful future.
“Positive cash-flow generation”
“We will focus our funding to reinforce the MV Agusta sales network and service and our knowledge in the technology fields, web and marketing to reach and enhance new markets, strengthen our digital and social presence, and enlarging MV Agusta’s consumer base.”
New York City based asset manager Black Ocean Group is, in turn, part of the Ocean Group, an investment vehicle founded by entrepreneurs Oliver Ripley and Timur Sardarov in 2005. Ocean has interests in a diverse range of sectors including private aviation, agriculture, real estate, corporate finance, banking, services, technology, media and internet, with offices in New York, London, Geneva and Moscow.
