VOL. 52 ISSUE 3 JANUARY 20, 2015 P73
This commercial and sporting
success led to rampant specula-
tion that MV Agusta would be
a takeover target for one of the
major motorcycle manufacturers,
or at various times a juicy prize
for Russian/Chinese/Indian/
Arab investors. In the end, it
turned out to be none of the
above. Announced on October
31, Mercedes-Benz would be
acquiring a 25 percent stake in
the boutique bike brand for an
undisclosed sum. So the four-
wheeled manufacturer will be-
come a minority shareholder in
the Italian motorcycle company,
under its sports car and perfor-
mance brand AMG. The chance
to quiz Giovanni Castiglioni di-
rectly on how this transpired, the
influence it will bring to bear on
MV's operation and his plans for
the ongoing development of the
company, led to some fascinat-
ing revelations.
Giovanni, we've seen the
press release–but now please
tell me in your own words
about the link between MV
Agusta and Mercedes-Benz,
including how it came about
and what it means for the
future?
Well, for us it's an amaz-
ing deal that came about quite
unexpectedly. Mercedes-Benz
is the 100 percent owner of its
performance car subsidiary
AMG, and Mercedes in turn is
wholly owned by Daimler-
Benz, which of course is an
outstanding company with
a significant presence on
the world stage. It's a great
organization. However, we
met up quite by accident,
almost casually. You know
I love bikes and cars, but
obviously in terms of bikes
I can only ride an MV, but I
have a much wider choice
of cars. I had several AMG's
one after the other, and so in
the end about one year ago
I went to visit the company
and be shown around the
factory, just as a customer. It
was pretty impressive–and I
ordered another car.
But after breaking the ice in
this way, so to speak, about
three or four months later in
March this year we started
discussing the possibility of a
partnership. Originally it was
a question of teaming up one
"YES, I AM THE
COMPANY TEST
RIDER, THE ONE
WHO TAKES THE
FINAL DECISION
WHETHER WE'RE
READY TO GO
WITH A NEW
MODEL AFTER
RIDING IT. I COME
PRETTY CHEAP,
THOUGH. IT'S ALL
INCLUDED IN THE
PACKAGE."
MV's Dragster 800 was
such a big hit, they could
not make enough of
them last year.
