Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128336
l IN THE The Latest On Ducati/Aprilia proposal, presen ted by Ducati on July 30, 2004 in accordance with the terms of the sale process - Ducati Motor Holding S.pA, in accordance with the terms of the sale process initiated by the advisors of the Aprilia Group (Carett i & Associati and Inte rbanca), presented on July reassurance regarding the transaction to all aimed at guaranteeing the continued opera tions of involved stakeholders: the Aprilia company for the period necessary to complete the acquisition of the gro up." Ducati will not modify its offer which there fore , remains valid. It reserves the right to protect its interests in the appropriate ways, the company says. 30 the master agreement for the acquis ition of the majority stake of the ApriliaGroup and a proposal for the continued operations of the company, with a financial and management contribution for the period necessary to com plete the transactio n, in the interest of Aprilia and the future com bined mot orcycle company, according to a release issued by Ducati last week. "We we re able, notwithsta nding the very tight time frame established by the sale process, to co mplete the initial due diligence phase and to prepare a master agreement and a proposal for the continued operations of the company of which were are very satisfied," said Federico Minoli, president and CEO of Ducati Motor Holding. "Within the comp licated and delicate negotiations , we rigorously respected the timing and confiden - - an agreement will be entered into to sup- port the continued operations of ApriliaGroup, with a financial and management contribution by Ducati, until the execution of the definitive agree ment, expected to occur in the fall; - Ducati contemplates a capital increase of at least euro 40 million, to be used for the recapitalizatio n of the Aprilia Group; - the Aprilia Grou p's creditor banks will be provided with a guarantee in respect of a new finance loan extended to the Aprilia Group in May 2004, and such banks will receive some participation in the upside through the con version of part of the debt into Ducati shares, w hich are listed on the NYSE and on the Italian Stock Exchange; - the debt of the bond holders will be pro tected in a manner to be determined pur - suant to negotiations with the bondholders' meeting; - the continuing operations of the Aprilia Group wiil be guaranteed to suppliers, thereby tiality obligations necessary for a transaction of this nature , which we were able to do guaranteeing their present and future revenues; because of the solidity and concreteness of our business plan and the merits and value of our proposal for allstakeholders. Ou r master operative ro le consistent with their competencies and pro fessional prestige in the mar - agreement for the restructu ring and contin - ued operations of the Aprilia Group is based on a so lid business plan shared with the com pany and its stakehol ders that contemplates a restructuring of the debt and a recapitalization of the group. In light of incorrect reports that appeared in some national media whic h created some commotion in the negot iations and put in jeop ardy the reac hing of an agreement, we report below the principal e lements of the agreement wit h the specific purpose of providing correct information and - current share holders will be given a non- ket and representative of the history and tradition of the Aprilia Group. Lastly, we emphasize our intention to main- tain the identity of each of the trademarks of the Aprilia Group, which are tied to their own history and geograp hic area, and the respect of each o f the current production sites." On Monday, August 2, Ducati issued anot her release that stated : "Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A takes note of the decision of the Aprilia Board of Directors, taken on July 3 1, not to extend the exclusivityand not to agree to the 12 AUGUST 11. 2004 • CYCLE NEWS Gobert NoShow In Aussie MX Fo rmer Grand Prix, World Superb ike and AMASuperbike road racer Anthony Gobert hasn't exactly set the world on "W e are certain that we have respected, in the form and the substance , the process and the procedures requested by the Aprilia advisors, " said Federico Minoli, president and C EO of Ducati Motor Holding. "We are strongly con vinced that our offer reflects the true value of the Aprilia Group and that it offers guarantees for all stakeholde rs involved in th e transactio n. For this reason , we do not intend to modi fy our offer, and fire w ith his sw itch to mot ocross and supermoto. According to sources in Australia , Gobert failed to appear for eithe r ro und six or round seven of the Australian Motocross Champ ionship, claiming that he still isn't fit enough to compete. More recently, Gobe rt did show up we will leave the possibility of furthe r evaluation at an Australian Supermoto race but up to the advisors ." didn't qualify for the main event. ACCEPTING : Moose Racing will be accepting rider resumes fo r the 2005 season from September I to October IS. Resumes must include: name, address, series you race in, class you race in, curr ent standings and top five racing accomplishments . Resumes can be sent to Moose Racing, att n: Roxane, rider support manager, P.O. Box 5222, Janesville, WI S3S47-S222. APPEARING: Erion Honda's Jake Zemke will be the featured guest at Sportbike N ight at the Hard Rock Cafe in Sacramento, California, on August 12 from 7 to 9 p.m. B 0 R N: A baby boy, Easton Alan Lentz, on July 2 1 to EVS Sports director of sales Todd Le ntz and his wife, Jennifer, in Janeseville, Wisconsin. 40th Anniversary S IG NED : Road racer John Haner to a deal with Pro forma Services, a marketing firm that provides public relations and promotional services to the motorcycle industry. "I'm really happy to be with Proforma ," said Hane r. "I know they 'll be able to he lp me move to the next level in my career. I'll be able to focus, bot h on my tra ining and my riding, knowing I've got help to look after everything . I'm having a pretty good year, but I want to be at the front, winning races and cham pionships." CORRECTION : In our coverage of the Michigan National Enduro in last week's issue, we misidentified a photo of fifth-place finisher RJch Lafferty. The rider in the photo was Dick Burleson, not Lafferty.