Bajaj close to equity deal with Triumph

NEW DELHI: Bajaj Auto may be in the hunt for another European acquisition. After buying a minority stake in Austria’s KTM and announcing a distribution alliance with Japanese cult-bike maker Kawasaki, the Pune-based two-wheeler maker is now in talks with the UK’s Triumph Motorcycles.

Sources said while teams from the two companies have been holding discussions for the last several months, talks have reached a more decisive phase now and Triumph’s managing director John Bloor is flying in to India to meet his counterpart, Rajiv Bajaj soon.

Indications are that Triumph may be open to offloading some equity stake to Bajaj in a bid to enter the Indian market, just like KTM.

Earlier this week, Triumph’s export manager Nick Bloor had said his company is keen to establish presence in India. “Triumph is looking to expand its global network. We are looking for an established partner in India which has extensive knowledge in the motorcycle and automotive business and who clearly understands the brand’s value.”

He said the company should have an Indian partner in place within six months.

Acknowledging that a senior team of Bajaj officials had visited Triumph’s manufacturing facility in UK some months back, Bloor had said MD John Bloor and commercial director Tue Mantoni are flying down to India this week for a “fact-finding mission”.

Senior Bajaj Auto officials confirmed talks between John Bloor and Bajaj are on, but declined to provide details.

Bajaj could be seeking a deal for joint product development and distribution of Triumph’s cult bikes in domestic and overseas markets — it has a similar arrangement with KTM, where the equity alliance (Bajaj holds a little over 20% stake) involves joint development of street bikes as well as a high-performance, water-cooled engine platform for 125 and 250 cc bikes.

With Kawasaki, Bajaj has adopted a different approach. The two partners are looking to use each other’s distribution networks in many markets across the globe.

Bajaj will import CKD (completely knocked down) kits of Kawasaki’s famous bikes, assemble them here and then retail them though its probiking showrooms.

Talks with Triumph could be pursuing either of these models. Triumph is an all-British cult bike company and its roster includes everything from the iconic Bonneville of the 60s to the latest range including the Rocket III and the Speed Triple.

The £165-million ($336 million) company has cruisers, urban sports bikes and other lifestyle products in its range including apparel and accessories.

Besides Triumph, Bajaj was earlier also holding talks with another cult bike maker —- Ducati Motor Holding of Italy.