When you’ve been following the ongoing KTM drama closely, then chances are high good that you just already know that Bajaj Auto, by way of its wholly owned subsidiary Bajaj Auto Worldwide Holdings BV (based mostly within the Netherlands), already has a 49.9% stake in Pierer Bajaj AG (which matches by the acronym PBAG, and I swear I’m not making that up).
The controlling possession of PBAG, nonetheless, has historically been owned by Pierer Industrie AG, which is wholly owned by Stefan Pierer. By the difficult nature of company holding buildings, to this point, PBAG has held an roughly 75% stake in Pierer Mobility AG (PMAG), which is the mum or dad firm of KTM AG. Image it like a company model of Russian nesting dolls, with a distinctly orange middle on this case.
Up till this level, that implies that Bajaj has beforehand held an estimated 37.5% stake in KTM. That’s, till Bajaj simply did what it did earlier this week, and took out important loans so it might pull KTM again from the brink of no return.
Pending vital regulatory approvals, Bajaj has introduced that it “plans to amass a sole controlling stake in PBAG,” and subsequently additionally PMAG and its subsidiary, KTM AG. It’s unclear what it will particularly imply for Stefan Pierer; solely that Bajaj will newly be accountable for the entire thing, and Pierer Industrie AG is not going to.
I do know there’s a variety of drama to maintain observe of, with what can appear to be extra plotlines effervescent slightly below the floor than a every day syndicated cleaning soap opera. However do you recall the power struggle between Stefan Pierer and Stephan Zöchling that broke out originally of Could 2025?
Zöchling—by way of Dabepo Holding GmbH—loaned the Pierer group roughly €80 million again in December 2024. Pierer (the corporate) didn’t pay it again within the agreed-upon timeframe, mentioned Zöchling, which was a main supply of the early-Could drama.
Enter Bajaj, which says that it’s now apparently stepped in and “taken over the dedication below the aforesaid Mortgage and Share Pledge Agreements from Dabepo Holding GmbH, to forestall the threatened foreclosures of this mortgage which might impede the deliberate restructuring and ramp up of the KTM enterprise.”
In different phrases, Bajaj is repaying that debt, as a part of its plan to “purchase a sole controlling stake in PBAG,” pending all vital regulatory approvals.
There’s separate paperwork that Bajaj filed with Indian inventory alternate regulators to tell them of this occasion, which RideApart has seen. It’s amongst a flurry of such paperwork which were filed since Bajaj filed its “Rumor Verification” with the BSE on Could 20, 2025.
Photograph by: KTM
As you might recall, Bajaj already invested round 200 million Euros to maintain KTM afloat all through the tough first few months of 2025. And now, it’s added one other 600 million Euro mortgage in Could 2025, which can be distributed each within the type of a secured time period mortgage and convertible bonds.
So, in whole, it’s been round 800 million Euros invested by Bajaj to drag KTM out of its self-administration course of, in addition to fulfill the collectors’ excellent 30% quota that was due on Could 23, 2025—which is tomorrow, on the time of writing. Bajaj’s announcement is dated Could 21, 2025; as a result of vagaries of time zone variations, that’s a bit nearer to Could 23 in India than it’s in Austria.
If issues proceed in response to Bajaj’s deliberate define, motorbike manufacturing, in addition to provide of components, attire, and all different issues we affiliate with KTM as a world motorbike firm will resume. Once more, and I can’t stress this sufficient: That is all pending regulatory approval by way of a number of branches.
However assuming that every one goes by way of with out a hitch, Bajaj plans to make some important strikes, together with revamping KTM’s governance construction and reconstituting its Board. It additionally plans to show the corporate round, make it financially viable (I imply, after all), additional “[implement] measures that widen the remit of the present joint growth program between the businesses and [pursue] synergistic alternatives in each the entrance finish and again finish.”
In different phrases, as you may anticipate, Bajaj and KTM are going to get a complete lot nearer and extra deeply intertwined, if issues fully go in response to Bajaj’s plans.
How shortly it will all occur is one other matter. It’s clear that even entities thought-about to usually be considerably slow-moving can, in actual fact, transfer shortly when point-of-no-return deadlines are concerned; see getting all this financing found out simply earlier than the AKV creditor deadline of Could 23, 2025 in case you want proof.
However now that individual hurdle has been cleared, will all of the modifications Bajaj is hoping for be authorised? And if that’s the case, how shortly will they be carried out? Watch this house.
Trending Merchandise
