It has been a long sad road for Norton Motorcycles lately, and we apologize for not covering the complete debacle that has unfolded from this historic British marque.
That being said, it is hard to condense what has happened to Norton in the past few months, as well as the accusations that have been levied at the company’s CEO Stuart Garner; but cutting to the point, the company has gone bankrupt, which has lead to allegations of the mishandling of funds and even of fraud.
Now after a week of rumors regarding a pending sale, on Friday we got confirmation that Norton Motorcycles has been sold to TVS Motors, the third-largest two-wheeled manufacturer in India, with a price tag of $20 million.
The deal sees TVS buying Norton all in cash (which is unsurprising, since Norton’s stock was essentially useless and the company was in administration). Going forward, TVS is said to have plans to invest in the Commando, Dominator, and V4 RR lines of motorcycle.
This should be good news for motorcycle fans, as it means that the Norton name will continue onward, as it has in some form or another since 1898.
This news also means that the cancerous portion of Norton can be excised from the company’s operations, which should help keep in place the image of the British brand, and its viability as an ongoing business effort.
With motorcyclists more likely to see some of the intriguing projects that Norton had underway coming to fruition, there is hope that through this acquisition, Norton will move from being a boutique brand to a more mainstream manufacturer, but that might be getting ahead of things.
As such, it will be interesting to watch where TVS Motor goes from here as the new stewards of the Norton name, and we can add another entry into the list of European transportation brands, especially British ones, that have come under Indian control.
Source: Retuers
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