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/128364
management to be impressed with MV Agusta's technological and design capabilities, and also the company's capacity for creating exciting and innovative products. "When they approached us, we saw it as more than just an investment opportunity, and instead we will be looking into forming a unique alliance," he said. Ariff also said Proton's acquisition of Lotus Group International in 1996 had given the company the engineering capability and expertise to venture into the development of a full range of transportation solutions, from motorcycles and watercraft to light aircraft and military vehicles - the latter a field in which MV Agusta is already involved, via its Cagiva brand. "With the ongoing reorganization in Proton, it is fair to say that the future of the company will not be singlehandedly dominated by car manufacturing," he added. The chance to quiz Castiglioni in his office - overlooking a Varese factory yard humming with activity - about MV Agusta's future under Proton's ownership delivered the inside story about a marriage that combines Asia with Europe, new with old, and in doing so, provides the motorcycle world's longest-running soap opera with a happy ending. Claudio, what's the new ownership structure of MV Agusta? And what implications does it have for you, personally? Proton has acquired 57.75 percent of our company from the Castiglioni family, which retains ownership of 37.25 percent of MV Agusta. In addition, 2 percent of the shareholding is owned by Massimo Tamburini personally, and 3 percent by Electrolux [the Swedish conglomerate which sold Husqvarna's motorcycle division to Castiglioni's Cagiva company back in 1987]. I still remain preSident of the company, but with Malaysian colleagues who will be responsible for day-to-day operation of the company, as well as for financial control and purchasing. This means that I can at last return to the work I know I'm best at in creating new models and focusing on R&D, as well as on marketing our products - and best of all, to do it in a calm and concentrated manner, without having What is your future strategy for those products? What will the company's new structure enable you to do which you couldn't in the past? Well, the first thing is that we'll now be able to undertake activities that we've effectively ignored before, specifically communications, marketing and merchandising. I realize that we've been lax in these areas, preferring instead to concentrate totally on the development of the products, which in some ways have almost sold themselves. We also have many requests for merchandising. If you own an MV Agusta motorcycle, chances are you'll want to purchase a range of ancillary products, such as jackets, riding gear and so on, all from a catalogue such as our competitors offer. We've only scratched a aee of this potentially very profL.._ _-·m e sector, and wile some of our distributors around the wo Id ave stepped in and created a range of merchaneJising products themselves, this is something we mus concentrate on ourselves centrally in future. Si i1arly, Tamburini and his son Andrea, also a talented aesigner, have created the MV Agusta Special Parts aftermarket catalog, which features several technical improvements over the standard models. We will now be able to build on this and offer a similar range of aftermarliet products for our other marques. ut I will also concentrate on expanding our distribution network, as well as on the element which is the lifeblood of a company such as ours, namely the products themselves. No motorcycle manufacturer - as certain others are demonstrating very well, at the moment - can How much did the Malaysians pay to assume conafford to ignore this vital ingredient in the existence of a trol MV company like ours, of understanding the needs of the Proton nave ploughed the tire amount of t eir market, of studying our customers' desires, of having the inves ent nto the..company by increasin the capital of right product at the right time. There are other manufacMV ust Motor by exactly euro million (about turers who have based their entire operation on a certain $91.6 milli n). This reduces the net operating debt of kind of dream image, which is the product of marketing, the company by a substantial amount, to around euro rather than on the reality represented by the product. 100 III ion (about $130.8 million), which on a debt-toBut our customers are extremely knowledgeable future earnings basis is a very comfortable ratio. And our motorcycle enthusiasts who can see through the smokenew financial controller, Mr. Johnson Liu Wen Jong, will screen thrown up by glamorous offices, or a high-profile ensure this situation remains favorable, given the huge race operation with prestigious sponsors, or a public demand for our products. CYCLE NEWS • FEBRUARY 9, 2005 39