TVS in talks with Norton Motorcycles to acquire it - Report
TVS, one of the leading two-wheeler manufacturers in India, is in talks with the iconic British bike company Norton Motorcycles, to acquire it, as per a new Bloomberg report.
Founded in 1898 as a manufacturer of "fittings and parts for the two-wheel trade", Norton Motorcycles, which made its first bike in 1902, has had various owners in the past. Its last owner was entrepreneur Stuart Garner who acquired the company in 2008. Under his umbrella, Norton Motorcycles made bikes like the Commando and Dominator.
The British brand went into administration in January 2020 as it failed to pay a large amount of tax. BDO Global is currently handling the liquidation of the company. CEO of Norton Motorcycles Stuart Garner is being investigated by the U.K.’s Pensions Regulator over actions taken when he was a trustee of three pension programs that invested in the company.
Headquartered in Chennai, TVS is one of the companies that have shown interest in procuring Norton Motorcycles. TVS has approached the concerned authorities for a potential deal, however, nothing has been finalised yet.
In India, Norton Motorcycles were available via Motoroyale which is a superbike multi-brand initiative by Kinetic. Motoroyale also deals in MV Agusta, SWM, Hyosung, and FB Mondial.
Also Read: Top 5 upcoming TVS bikes and scooters in 2020-21
At present, TVS’ flagship product is the Apache RR 310, which is a result of the TVS-BMW Motorrad joint venture. Buying Norton Motorcycles would open doors for TVS to enter premium mid-capacity motorcycles. TVS has witnessed a 40% fall in its shares this year and has a market value of about USD 1.7 billion.
For more TVS news and other two-wheeler updates, stay tuned to IndianAutosBlog.com.
[Source: Bloomberg]