The Brits over at MCN broke the news last night that Husqvarna was about to be acquired by KTM. Since M&A’s are a rarity in this industry, the news was certainly interesting, but given that the beleaguered Husqvarna brand has been such a pox on BMW Motorrad with its dwindling dirt bike sales, and that the German company has been embroiled in trying to transition the Italian-based Swedish brand into the on-road segment, now seems a peculiar time for the BMW Group to unload Husqvarna…or that anyone would even be interested in purchasing the company.
Since that time, our Italian friends over at OmniMoto have confirmed the news that Husqvarna will be sold, with an announcement this week (likely tomorrow), but Dutch publication NieuwsMotor puts an interesting caveat on the story, saying that KTM CEO Stefan Pierer is the purchaser, not KTM AG or Cross Industries AG (the main holding company for KTM). If that news is correct, then it would seem likely that today’s news is a two-fer, with Stefan Pierer presumably stepping down from his position at KTM to take on a new role at Husqvarna.
With all the pieces of the puzzle still not on the table, we are left with a bit of “if, then” conjecture, but what does seem certain is that BMW Motorrad is about to make a critical divesture in its holdings, and there is a very interesting future ahead for Husqvarna.
Source: MCN, OmniMoto, & NieuwsMotor
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