Bike manufacturer KTM has avoided bankruptcy after its restructuring plans were greenlit by creditors, suggesting the immediate future of its MotoGP programme is secure.
KTM has been in self-administration due to having accrued massive debts, and the fate of the company was left effectively hinging on a Tuesday vote at the regional court in Austria's Ried im Innkreis - where those who are owed money would decide on whether they will allow KTM to proceed with its restructuring programme (naturally hinging on outside investment) or deny these plans and set it on a path to bankruptcy and dissolution.
KTM CEO Gottfried Neumeister was in attendance at the vote, as was Stefan Pierer - the man synonymous with KTM and its parent company Pierer Mobility Group, who handed over the CEO role to Neumeister as part of these proceedings.
And it has now been reported by major Austrian outlets like oe24 and the Salzburger Nachrichten that the restructuring plan has been approved.
A resolution on KTM's future was of paramount importance to Austria and in particular its Innviertel (Innkreis) region in Upper Austria, where Mattighofen - the town that hosts KTM's headquarters - is located, but it was also a huge consequence to the motorcycle racing world, where KTM is a major player.
Despite its precarious financial situation, KTM - through motorsport boss Pit Beirer - has maintained that it intends not only to see out the current MotoGP regulations cycle but continue into the next ruleset, with new bikes powered by 850cc engines, from 2027 onwards.
Beirer acknowledged KTM would have to reduce motorsport spending, which he said was primarily being accomplished through a reduction of the roster of factory-contracted riders, but was adamant the funding would remain in place for a full-commitment MotoGP effort.
While no motorsport-related communication has come out of the proceedings so far, KTM successfully navigating self-administration has to be good news for its racing ambitions.
KTM is now required to pay off creditors at a 30% cash quota by May, which is said by oe24 - the online edition of tabloid Österreich - to equate 600 million Euros, plus another 150 for the planned resumption of production at the Mattighofen plant, idle since the end of last year. A major part of that investment will come from Indian manufacturer Bajaj Auto, already a KTM shakeholder.
The very same outlet, oe24, reported in the lead-up to the creditor vote that BMW had emerged as not only a potential investor but a favoured investor, at least in the eyes of (according to oe24) Peter Vogl - the lawyer who headed up the self-administration process. The suggestion, however, was that BMW would get involved specifically if the restructuring plan had failed to garner the requisite support.
BMW is likewise active in two-wheeled motorsport and had been linked with a MotoGP entry as an additional manufacturer.
