The future of the Austrian brand will be decided on Tuesday, and according to multiple sources, BMW has made a significant offer.
The future of KTM will be decided tomorrow. The bankruptcy trustee of the Wels Regional Court, Peter Wogl, will officially announce the future of the Austrian company and its employees, along with various restructuring options. Wogl’s law firm has also been contacted for a series of acquisition offers from the Chinese company CF Moto and the Indian Bajaj Group, which already holds a 49% stake in the company.
But there could be an important development regarding KTM’s acquisition. According to Austrian news channel oe24.at, BMW has made a significant offer to take over the Austrian company, which has been struggling for several months now.
If confirmed, this would be a major announcement, but it could also have a negative impact on KTM‘s employees. According to Austrian sources, BMW’s plan would be to continue what has been started by the company, which also competes in MotoGP, but outside of Austria. This would involve the layoff of the 4,500 employees working in the Upper Austria factories by 2025, as BMW’s plan is to move research to Germany and production to India.
Furthermore, if BMW were to acquire KTM, local suppliers would go bankrupt, and taxpayers’ money would have to be used to cover the costs that Austria’s insolvency compensation fund would incur to support the 4,500 laid-off employees, estimated at over 225 million euros per year.
