Bajaj now controls KTM parent Pierer Mobility

On Tuesday, the shares of Pierer Industrie were transferred to Bajaj, making Bajaj the controlling majority shareholder of Pierer Mobility AG with 74.9 percent, as announced on Wednesday night.

Bajaj Financial Support Saved Insolvent KTM

Bajaj, a partner of the Upper Austrian motorcycle manufacturer KTM since 2007, secured the survival of the insolvent KTM with a financial injection in the spring. In return, it was agreed that Bajaj would fully take over the previous joint venture Pierer Bajaj and thus the controlling majority of the KTM parent Pierer Mobility. After the takeover commission and the EU Commission gave the green light, this call option was now exercised.

Headquarters of Pierer Mobility to be Relocated to Mattighofen

On Wednesday morning, the extraordinary general meeting also decided on the renaming to Bajaj Mobility AG. The participating shareholders represented 79.74 percent of the share capital, and their vote was unanimous. There were also no objections and only a few abstentions regarding the relocation of the company's headquarters from Wels to Mattighofen, where the subsidiary KTM is also based.

Supervisory Board Reduced and Reconstituted

It was also decided to reduce the supervisory board from the previous six to four members in the future. Pierer confidants are leaving, to be replaced by those from Bajaj: Newly elected to the supervisory body were Bajaj board member Pradeep Shrivastava and Wulf Gordian Hauser, both with approximately 1.37 million votes against out of around 25.6 million votes cast. Ewald Oberhammer - who was previously chairman of the supervisory body - as well as Ernst Chalupsky, Michaela Friepeß, and Iris Filzwieser will resign their mandates.

What it means for the KTM site in Austria that the Indians have now taken the helm is uncertain. Rajiv Bajaj, head of the family-owned Bajaj Auto, sought to reassure during a meeting with Upper Austrian Economic Councillor Markus Achleitner (ÖVP) in India: "KTM will always remain an Austrian company, leading in research, design, development, engineering, racing, as well as in the production and distribution of top-class large and specialized motorcycles in preferred markets," he sees KTM and Bajaj as independent entities, as quoted by "Oberösterreichische Nachrichten" and "Kronenzeitung" in their Wednesday editions. Achleitner sees this as a "clear commitment to maintaining the KTM site in Austria."

Indians Focus on Efficiency and Costs

However, according to the newspaper articles, Bajaj board member and new supervisory board member Shrivastava also emphasized that efficiency must increase and costs must decrease. While around 1,000 employees at the Bajaj plant in Pune, India, can produce about 200,000 motorcycles a year, at KTM in Austria, it is about 4,000 employees for 230,000 motorcycles. For some time now, the lighter KTM motorcycles have been produced by Bajaj in India. According to Bajaj managers, large-volume, off-road, and high-end motorcycles will continue to be produced in the Innviertel in the future.

(APA/Red)

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