beansbaxter
Needs a life
Posts: 5911
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posted January 07, 2006 11:30 AM
Proton sells its stock in MV Agusta
Proton Sells 57% Stake In MV Agusta for $1.20
By Alex Edge
No, that's not a typo. Proton, who last year bought a 57.7% interest in MV Agusta for around $85 million, sold their share of the prestigious Italian motorcycle manufacturer on December 29 for 1 euro (approximately $1.20).
Proton had bought a controlling share in MV hoping it's investment could turn the company into a money-maker, but apparently MV's money-losing ways and massive debt were too much for the Malaysian company. According to Proton, MV has lost approximately $35 million in the last 15 months, and currently has over $55 million in debt.
Proton sold it's MV shares to an Italian trading company, GEVI SpA, which now assumes primary liability for MV's debts. The sale has caused an uproar in Malaysia and in worldwide business markets, as it was apparently made without taking bids or attempting to get a better price for the MV stock.
How will this affect current and prospective MV Agusta owners, and the motorcycling community in general? This remains to be seen, and it is unlikely that GEVI will announce what it plans to do with it's majority stake in MV until the sale of the stock is finalized on February 28. At that point, GEVI will likely announce it's intentions towards MV, which could possibly include investing capital to clear the company's debts while restructuring its management for more efficient (and hopefully more profitable) operation.
   
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beansbaxter
Needs a life
Posts: 5911
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posted January 07, 2006 11:31 AM
And if you missed the backstory on this...
Proton selling stake in Agusta Motor for RM4.48
By ZURAIMI ABDULLAH
December 28 2005
PROTON Holdings Bhd will sell off its controlling stake in famed but struggling motorcycle maker MV Agusta Motor SpA for the token sum of one euro (RM4.48).
The move comes just over a year after Proton took over the Italian company.
Proton yesterday said it had agreed to sell its 57.57 per cent stake in MV Agusta to Italy's Gevi SpA for one euro. In return, Gevi will take over MV Agusta's restructured frozen debts amounting to 106.94 million euros and working capital requirement of 32.50 million euros.
"The proposed disposal is consistent with Proton's direction of divesting non-core assets," the national carmaker announced to Bursa Malaysia.
Proton said its earnings, net assets, share capital and shareholding will not be affected by the decision to sell MV Agusta.
MV Agusta owns three of the leading names in motorcycles - MV Agusta, Cagiva and Husqvarna.
Proton rescued MV Agusta by pumping in 70 million euros into the company in Dec 2004.
Proton chairman Datuk Mohammed Azlan Hashim recently said about RM500 million had been spent on taking over and running MV Agusta.
The national carmaker suffered a net loss of RM154.33 million for its second quarter ended September.
It attributed the loss to provisions totalling RM160.7 million, mainly for the troubled motorcycle unit.
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