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The next important milestone in KTM AG's restructuring process was achieved this morning during the Extraordinary General Meeting in Munderfing. Shareholders approved the urgently needed capital increase. The meeting lasted just one hour and twenty minutes. The items on the agenda of KTM's parent company, Pierer Mobility, were made known: a restructuring of the supervisory board and an increase in capital. Both items were given the green light by the shareholders.
Supervisory Board Chairman Josef Blazicek resigned from his position and Stephan Zöchling joined the board. Zöchling is co-owner of the successful and globally active exhaust system manufacturer, Remus, and is also CEO of the company, making him a long-standing business partner of KTM's. The board will decide in a separate meeting whether Zöchling will also become chairman of the supervisory board.
During the Extraordinary General Meeting, they also decided to increase the KTM AG's share capital by up to 16,898,267 Euros. Because of this, up to 16,898,267 new no-par stocks will be issued. There are currently 33,796,535 Pierer Mobility shares in circulation on the Vienna Stock Exchange. The new issue, therefore, corresponds to an increase in the share capital of approximately 50%. The share price on Monday was approximately 18.20 Euros per share. In January 2025, the shares had already gained 14.20% in value.
At the latest, since the start of the insolvency proceedings on November 29th, it was clear that the financial holding company, Pierer Mobility AG, needed fresh money for its operating companies to restructure KTM, the largest motorcycle manufacturer in Europe. It was already clear in December that 540 to 600 million Euros would be needed to achieve the targeted quota of 30%. This amount was to be raised by existing shareholders, such as Bajaj Auto and CFMTO, and about 20 other investors were also found who expressed interest in restructuring KTM. In total, new capital of 900 million Euros was expected last week.
KTM AG's restructuring administrator, Peter Vogl, did not want to name any interested parties at the general meeting last Friday. However, besides Bajaj and CFMOTO, at least the investment company, FountainVest Partners from Hong Kong, had been indicated as a possible investor, and also the US investment bank, Citigroup, had sought out other investors on behalf of the Pierer Group.
Pierer Mobility AG is owned by Pierer Bajaj AG by approximately 75%. In turn, KTM CEO Stefan Pierer owns 50.1%, and the Indian partner, Bajaj Auto, owns 49.9%.
It remains to be seen whether the restructuring plan will be approved on February 25th, after 90 days of insolvency proceedings. The new supervisory board member, Zöchlin,g complained that several banks are demanding a quota that is significantly higher than 30%. Overall, the ailing company's liabilities are between 1.8 and 2.2 billion Euros. To the 180 banks, which are owed around 14 billion Euros, the Pierer Group is offering the statutory minimum quota of 30% of the total debt. The Bloomberg agency reported that the US hedge fund, Whitebox - which has been trying to buy bank promissory notes since the bankruptcy was declared - has announced its opposition to the restructuring plan.
Stefan Pierer has repeatedly emphasized that he will fight to save his life's work. He stepped back into the background on Thursday and immediately handed over the role of CEO to his board colleague, Gottfried Neumeister .
The planned sales of the sports car manufacturer X-BOW and also the bicycle brand FELT, as well as the annulment of the MV Agusta purchase, are also expected to bring new money into the coffers. The restructuring plan also provides for KTM to continue to manage motorsports activities with 40 factory riders as a marketing vehicle.
"The opinion has prevailed that KTM is not only capable of restructuring, but it is also worthy of restructuring," CEO Gottfried Neumeister explained on Friday.
"KTM has already written many amazing chapters in the motorcycle sector since winning its first world championship title with Gennadi Moissejew in 1974 in the 250 cc motocross world championship, and we are confident that many more remarkable stories will follow," said a KTM manager, with growing confidence, during the weekend.
