After several years of an acrimonious relationship
with Mercedes-AMG, Italian motorcycle manufacturer MV Agusta has completed the
buy–back of its outstanding shares from the German carmaker, officially ending
the partnership. This means MV Agusta is now completely in the hands of chief
operating officer Giovanni Castiglioni and ComSar Invest, an investment company
owned by Black Ocean Group.
While the actual partnership percentage is not
known, Black Ocean is owned by the Russian Sardarov family and is assumed to be
holding a major interest in MV Agusta Holding, which in turns owns MV Agusta
Motor, according to a Asphalt and Rubber report. MV Agusta Motor is the
division that makes the firms road-going motorcycles, which is a separate
entity from the Castiglioni Research Center design house and MV Agusta Reparto
Corse, its racing department.
What is more interesting is the announcement that the
reorganisation of MV Agusta’s corporate structure will now allow it to
concentrate on the production of a four-cylinder Brutale, something that has
been overdue for while due to the Varese firm’s tangled financial issues. It
remains to be seen if the new four-cylinder, said to be displacing 1,200 cc,
will be a major release at EICMA, as is traditional, or will hit European
dealer showrooms in time for the summer riding season.
