Bajaj Completes Acquisition of KTM
Bajaj Auto has officially completed its call option agreement to acquire a controlling stake in Pierer Mobility AG, including KTM, Husqvarna, and GasGas. The Indian company now holds a majority stake in the three European brands as part of KTM’s restructuring.
The acquisition was officially completed in two steps for a total of $58.38 million USD. Of course, that’s a relative pittance compared to the €800 million ($921.9 million) in cash Bajaj paid to settle Pierer Mobility’s creditors and restart production.
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The official ownership structure is a confusing web of subsidiaries and joint ventures sharing similar names, so we’ll try to break it down as simply as we can. KTM, Husqvarna, and GasGas are all wholly owned subsidiaries under Pierer Mobility AG, which also owns a 100% stake in KTM Racing and a 50% stake in design studio Kiska. Approximately 25% of Pierer Mobility is publicly traded shares listed on stock exchanges in Switzerland and Austria, and the remaining 74.9% owned by a joint venture named Pierer Bajaj AG. As its name suggests, ownership of the joint venture was split, with 50,100 shares owned by Pierer Industrie AG (PIAG) and 49,900 shares owned by Bajaj Auto International Holdings (BIAH).
On June 4, 2025, BAIH initiated an option to acquire 26,000 shares from PIAG for a cash confederation of €26.34 million ($30.36 million). On November 18, BAIH initiated a second call to acquire the remaining shares from PIAG for €24.31 million ($28.02 million). That means that Bajaj Auto now owns 100% of Pierer Bajaj AG, and thus 74.9% of Pierer Mobility.
To make things official, Pierer Bajaj AG will be renamed Bajaj Auto International Holdings AG, and Pierer Mobility AG will be renamed Bajaj Mobility AG.
Even before the transaction, Bajaj Auto was one of the top 5 motorcycle manufacturers in the world. KTM, Husqvarna and GasGas, however, add a premium level of product that is largely missing from Bajaj’s portfolio.
Begin Press Release:
PIERER Mobility AG: New strong owner for KTM
Bajaj Auto International Holdings B.V., the wholly owned subsidiary of Bajaj Auto, India has taken control of Pierer Bajaj AG (to be renamed to Bajaj Auto International Holdings AG) – Successful reduction of global vehicle inventory and significant increase in sales expected in the second half of 2025
On May 22, 2025, Bajaj Auto International Holdings B.V. ("Bajaj Auto BV") entered into a call option agreement with Pierer Industrie AG, which enabled Bajaj Auto B.V. to acquire Pierer Industrie AG's shares in Pierer Bajaj AG and thus indirectly taking control of the Company by the end of May 2026 at the latest. On November 10, 2025, the European Commission gave the green light for the future of KTM by not prohibiting the transaction in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2022/2560. Having received all regulatory approvals, Bajaj Auto B.V. has since exercised the entirety of the call options. On November 18, the transaction was finally closed with the acquisition of Pierer Industrie AG's shares (50.1 percent) in Pierer Bajaj AG. Bajaj Auto B.V. is now the sole owner of Pierer Bajaj AG. With this transaction, Pierer Bajaj AG now holds 74.9 percent of KTM's parent company, PIERER Mobility AG. Pierer Bajaj AG will soon be renamed Bajaj Auto International Holdings AG.
Among other things, today's extraordinary general meeting has approved the change of the companies' legal name from PIERER Mobility AG to Bajaj Mobility AG. The composition of the Supervisory Board of the future Bajaj Mobility AG has also been changed. The nominees of Pierer Industrie AG have stepped down. Pradeep Shrivastava, Executive Director at Bajaj Auto, and Vienna based attorney, Dr. Wolf Gordian Hauser have been appointed as new members of the Supervisory Board, joining Dinesh Thapar and Srinivasan Ravikumar who assumed their positions on the Supervisory Board earlier.
Bajaj Auto has been closely associated with KTM since 2007 and secured the Company's continued existence in May 2025 with a cash injection of €800 million, marking a clear commitment to the future of the KTM business.
As one of the top 5 global motorcycle companies and the world’s largest three-wheeler player, Bajaj Auto's business is present not just in India but in over 100 countries, making it truly ‘The World’s Favourite Indian’. It is the largest exporter of two-wheelers and three-wheelers from India, accounting for half of the industry exports. While being a globally renowned name in the automotive sector, Bajaj Auto designs, develops, and manufactures its products in India not just for the domestic market but for overseas markets as well. It has over 1500 engineers at its state-of-the-art R&D facility in Pune, design centers in Spain and Thailand, highly acclaimed TPM certified factories and a recently commissioned manufacturing site in Brazil. Bajaj Auto has for years been delivering products with best-in-class design and technology, built on uncompromising quality and distributed across an expansive network across markets. It’s unwavering commitment to organizational agility and product innovation keeps it future ready.
"With Bajaj as our parent company, we now have a strong industry expert with a global presence, who has been with KTM for many years now and therefore understands our business, brand and products. Bajaj's strengths and KTM's expertise complement each other perfectly. We want to leverage these synergies to bring KTM back to the top," says CEO Gottfried Neumeister, delighted with the successful closing, adding: "KTM will remain an Austrian company with independent management that plays a pioneering role in research and development, design, product quality, and racing." Since mid-September 2025, Petra Preining has joined the management team as CFO in addition to Gottfried Neumeister, CEO, and Verena Schneglberger-Grossmann, CLO.
With the closing, the long-awaited stability is now returning to the company - for its employees and the broader ecosystem of partners. "They all have carried the Company through this difficult time. Now it is up to us to consolidate and to regain their trust in us," says Gottfried Neumeister. Intensive dialogue with the specialized dealer network will enable KTM to better align production planning with market demand in the future. "The turnaround is in full swing. We are making good progress not only with restructuring and cost reduction but have also begun the journey to increase sales with new and existing loyal customers. We expect to sell a significantly higher number of motorcycles to our dealers and importers in the second half of the year compared to the previous year. At the same time, the reduction of inventory is progressing better than expected. By the end of the year, global inventory is anticipated to be down by 110,000 motorcycles," said Gottfried Neumeister.
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Dennis has been a part of the Motorcycle.com team since 2008, and through his tenure, has developed a firm grasp of industry trends, and a solid sense of what's to come. A bloodhound when it comes to tracking information on new motorcycles, if there's a new model on the horizon, you'll probably hear about it from him first.
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Rich - just about everything . Triumphs from different eras . Too many HD to count. BSA , 70’s Japanese dual purpose and kawi triples . GS Suzukis , “47 Indian chief . And BMW’s . I have put a couple together myself.
Did I complain about my Kawasakis? They were junk but fun and fast for their time.
an H1 triple and a kr?175 dual purpose. Both very well used. I am looking to see the W250 but I am told they are dealer order only.
look, I tried to like KTM but found them to be frail . You feel sorry for me becz I had a 1947 chief cut down I beat the crap out of . ? Feel sorry for me that I sold it before they became ruined by high end collectors !