- Bloomberg
New Delhi: The co-owner of the KTM AG motorcycle maker has secured a 566mil or about US$632mil one-year loan within days of a deadline to fund an insolvency plan at the troubled Austrian company.
The European unit of Bajaj Auto Ltd agreed to the unsecured loan with JP Morgan Chase & Co, DBS Bank Ltd and Citigroup Inc, according to a regulatory filing to the BSE in Mumbai.
The funds will be used for Bajaj Auto’s investments, according to the filing which does not name KTM.
KTM’s creditors agreed in February to a 70% haircut as part of a restructuring deal. The company has until May 23 to deposit 544mil with its insolvency administrator and pay out a 30% quota to creditors.
Bajaj and Austrian entrepreneur Stefan Pierer co-own Swiss-listed Pierer Mobility, which is the parent of KTM.
Citi has been advising the company on securing fresh funds, including additional cash required to resume manufacturing.
KTM filed for insolvency last year after struggling to navigate the volatile demand for its motorbikes during the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to excessive inventories.
Bajaj Auto International Holdings BV, the Netherlands-based subsidiary of the automaker, has subscribed to convertible bonds of 50mil issued by Pierer Bajaj AG last Thursday, according to an exchange filing.
The investment consists of 500 bonds worth 100,000 each. They can be converted into shares of Pierer Bajaj AG between June 2025 and February 2028.
The fund infusion is a related-party transaction and carried out on an arm’s length basism, Indian news site NDTV reported last week.
The money “will facilitate the funding needs of Pierer Mobility AG’s subsidiary KTM AG, as required for its restructuring process”, NDTV reported.
The company has been among the hardest hit amid financial difficulties in Austria’s industrial sector, suffering from rising energy and labour costs that risk thousands of jobs.
Representatives for KTM and Bajaj didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours. — Bloomberg
