INTERVIEW
MV AGUSTA PRESIDENT AND CEO GIOVANNI CASTIGLIONI: PART 1
P88
Giovanni, where is MV
Agusta today and how did it
get there?
Well, that's a big question that
requires quite a long answer,
and to see the full picture we
need to look back in time a little,
to 2010 when Harley-Davidson
wanted to disinvest itself of MV
Agusta due to the global finan-
cial situation, and to focus on
their main business in the USA.
Is it true that you person-
ally negotiated your family's
reacquisition of MV Agusta
with Harley?
Both the original sale and the
re-acquisition. I transacted the
sale to Harley in 2008, which
was a very difficult decision
for us to make. I really pushed
my Dad on that, because I felt
there was a tough two or three
years coming up, but it was
very difficult for me to make him
understand this was a smart
decision at the time. I think the
transaction between Harley-
Davidson and MV was a great
deal for everyone, both for us
and them, but it was just the
timing that was wrong. At any
other moment it would have
been perfect. Harley was the
ideal partner for this company,
and there were great synergies
"WE'VE NOW USED
UP OUR CASH, AND
THE LEVERAGE WITH
SUPPLIERS IS MAXED
OUT, SO NOW WE
NEED FRESH CASH TO
MAKE THE INCREASED
NUMBERS OF BIKES
THE MARKET IS
ASKING FOR."
Their WorldSSP
team has been
a big success,
with Jules
Cluzel scoring
multiple race
wins on the
beautiful F3.
