There’s been a lot of talk about Pierer AG’s money problems over the past few weeks, with some speculating that the Austrian owner of KTM, Husqvarna, GasGas and MV Agusta will go bust. Or (this is far more likely), be bought out by their Indian partners at Bajaj. As it turns out, neither of those things seem likely in the immediate future, as Pierer AG has instead opted for restructuring under European and Austrian law.
As we are not experts in European bankruptcy law (hard as that may be to believe), we will publish the relevant sections of Pierer AG’s statement below. Again, we are not experts in EU legalese, but it looks like Pierer AG is saying they plan to pay all their creditors, but they need more time to sort their financial situation out.
The Pierer AG statement only briefly mentions that KTM AG bosses are “currently in discussions with creditors and the core shareholder Pierer Bajaj AG.” There have also been rumors that Pierer AG might be partnering up with the money behind Red Bull, which would make sense, as they’ve long been partners in motorsports—but Stefan Pierer seems to be denying these rumors. Whatever the case, the stock market seems to suddenly have regained faith in Pierer AG, as its share price has been rising steadily over the past few days.
See Pierer AG’s statement on its restructuring below.
Pierer Industrie AG initiates proceedings under the Restructuring Ordinance (ReO) to safeguard the stability of the Pierer Industrie Group
Pierer Industrie AG initiates proceedings under the Restructuring Ordinance (ReO) to safeguard the stability of the Pierer Industrie Group
- No reduction in claims of bond and promissory note creditors
- Deferral of maturities and repayment of the full capital amount
The Pierer Industrie Group is a leading European automotive group focussing on the global motorcycle segment and the automotive high-tech components sector. The Group employs more than 10,000 people worldwide and generated consolidated revenues of EUR 3.6 billion in 2023.
The company has been informed by the Executive Board of its main subsidiary KTM AG that it is currently in discussions with creditors and the core shareholder Pierer Bajaj AG and that it is examining all necessary restructuring measures in parallel. KTM AG is a wholly owned subsidiary of the listed PIERER Mobility AG (ISIN AT000KTMI02).
In 2020, Pierer Industrie AG issued a bond (ISIN: AT0000A2JSQ5) with a total nominal amount of EUR 100,000,000.00 (term 2020-2028) admitted to the Official Market of the Vienna Stock Exchange. Furthermore, in 2020 the company took out promissory note loans (terms 2020-2025 and 2020-2026) with a total nominal amount of EUR 132,500,000.00. In 2021, the company privately placed a bond with a total nominal amount of EUR 15,000,000.00 (term 2021-2033).
Avoidance of acceleration of maturity of claims
Pierer Industrie AG assumes that if the measures being considered at the level of KTM AG are implemented, there is a risk that the creditors of the above-mentioned bonds and promissory note loans will accelerate the maturity of the outstanding capital amounts. This would lead to the inability of Pierer Industrie AG to pay its debts (Zahlungsunfähigkeit).
Initiation of restructuring proceedings in accordance with the Restructuring Ordinance (ReO) to safeguard the stability of the Pierer Industrie Group
Pierer Industrie AG has therefore decided to initiate a European restructuring proceeding in accordance with the Austrian Restructuring Ordinance (ReO) in order to safeguard the stability of the Group. The creditors of the above-mentioned financings are affected by the restructuring proceedings. All other liabilities will be fulfilled as agreed.
Receivables are not reduced, interest paid as agreed
The procedure is not intended to result in any reduction of the creditors’ claims under the above-mentioned bonds and promissory note loans. The subject is merely an extension of the maturity dates for the repayment of the full capital amount. Pierer Industrie AG is not overindebted, even if its indirect shareholding in KTM is not considered.
In the due course of its business operations, Pierer Industrie AG is in a position to fulfil its liabilities in full by taking appropriate measures. This requires the maturities of bonds and promissory note loans to be adjusted. It is intended to make interest payments as agreed.
Curator for the bondholders
As a result of the initiation of the restructuring proceedings, a joint curator is to be appointed by the court in accordance with the Austrian Curators Act (Teilschuldverschreibungsgesetz 1874). This curator will represent the bondholders in the restructuring proceedings at the level of Pierer Industrie AG.