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Back in November, the then KTM CEO Stefan Pierer (68) had already declared that he would fight to continue his life's work. The creditors and the credit protection association then unequivocally demanded that Pierer personally invest money to save KTM. And the local politicians in Upper Austria made it unequivocally clear that this time no more tax money would be contributed to Europe's largest motorcycle manufacturer, as had happened during the global economic crisis and the Covid era.
When the insolvency proceedings were initiated (November 29th) and at the first creditors' meeting (December 20th), liabilities of 1.8 billion euros were declared, and the insolvent KTM could no longer pay the wages and salaries for November and December.
After that, it was announced that Stefan Pierer would contribute considerable millions from his real estate empire to bring fresh capital into the company. The sum that Pierer raised is now rumored to be around 200 million. This meant that, for example, the Christmas bonus (in Austria, a kind of 14th salary) and the January wages could be paid.
Pierer, a trained "restructuring expert", undertook several sensible and targeted measures in autumn. And together with his new co-CEO Gottfried Neumeister, who has since been appointed CEO of Pierer Mobility and KTM AG, presented the restructuring administrator Peter Vogl and the creditors (including 180 banks) with a restructuring program that provides for the payment of 30 percent of the debt within two years.
Stefan Pierer is now acting as co-CEO, so he has stepped back into the second row, but has installed a new supervisory board chairman in the form of his confidant Stephan Zöchling, who is co-owner and CEO of the renowned Austrian exhaust system manufacturer Remus.
Immediately after Zöchling joined the KTM, it was speculated in Austrian business circles that the successful Zöchling would not be satisfied with just the role of watchdog.
In fact, Zöchling has now confirmed to the business magazine "Trend" that he will also invest financially in KTM.
Stephan Zöchling is quoted in the interview as saying "Yes, I have submitted to the sales process."
On December 20, KTM announced that three investors wanted to tax fresh capital. At the time, it was probably the long-standing shareholders Bajaj Auto and CFMOTO, as well as the investment company FountainView from Hong Kong.
In January, a fact sheet reported that a total of 23 investors had now expressed their interest. There was talk of binding commitments of 900 million euros, which because of the short time frame exceeded all expectations. The KTM managers had commissioned the US investment bank Citigroup to look for new investors, which turned out to be a smart move.
Since then, those responsible at KTM have been convinced that the restructuring of KTM will succeed under their own responsibility after the end of the 90-day insolvency proceedings.
Stefan Pierer will probably lose influence because he is being replaced as majority owner. But KTM is to continue with 4,000 employees and will manufacture and sell 230,000 motorcycles again in 2025. Due to the high inventory levels, a production stop was agreed from December 13th to March 17th.
In the meantime, KTM has sold off some assets, such as the 50.1 percent share in MV Agusta - back to the Sardarov family.
It is still unclear how much Zöchling will invest in KTM. The managing director of Remus (headquartered in Voitsberg in Styria) produces exhausts and particle filters for diesel engines with his company.
"I know the industry, the mechanisms and the KTM company very well because we are a supplier and, as Remus, we supply some products and aftermarket products," explained Stephan Zöchling when he introduced himself to the shareholders of Pierer Mobility AG on January 27, who later elected him as chairman of the supervisory board. Incidentally, Zöchling is not only the boss of exhaust manufacturer Remus, but also of the Erne company in Vorarlberg and of a logistics center in Vienna.
"My goal is to further expand KTM's position in the motorcycle industry together with the management and the entire team, to promote sustainable growth and to pave the way to a technologically exciting future," announced Stephan Zöchling in a press release after his election as chairman of the supervisory board of Pierer Mobility AG. "As the new chairman of the supervisory board, I am happy to take on the responsibility of actively helping to shape the process of recovering the Pierer Mobility Group. I firmly believe in the power of the KTM brand to inspire motorcycle fans around the world."
Zöchling also revealed how he plans to finance his investments in KTM. "I made a little money with Sberbank that I want to reinvest." In June 2023, Zöchling surprisingly secured the European remnants of the Russian Sberbank Europa AG.
The institute, which belonged to the Russian Sberbank, was wound up after the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and because of the sanctions imposed as a result, and its assets were sold off. The rest was in the form of around 350 million euros in cash in an account of "Sber Vermögensverwaltungs AG" (SVAG), which emerged from the bank, at Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI). Zöchling took over the remnants of Sberbank with a company under his influence; a purchase price of around 240 million euros was rumored.
For legal reasons, he is not allowed to say how much money he wants to invest in order to support the Austrian motorcycle manufacturer, Zöchling said in an interview with "Trend".
He also criticized individual banks that KTM owes money to. The man from Vienna hinted that it is possible to talk very constructively with some of them. A financial institution, on the other hand, would act in a hostile way and would not shy away from harming KTM employees, the entrepreneur said.
In fact, two or three of the 180 creditor banks are said to be insisting on a quota of 50 to 70 percent.
KTM's creditors have filed claims totaling almost 2.4 billion euros by January 24, 2025. Of this, around 1.6 billion euros have so far been recognized by the regional court in Ried im Innkreis and by restructuring administrator Peter Vogl.
However, everything indicates that the new business plan will be approved on February 25 and that creditors will be reimbursed 30 percent of their debts over the next two years.
