Finally finding a purchaser at its second auction, Moto Morini has seemingly been given a new lease on life after finding a pair of investors willing to back the Italian brand. Buying the company’s assets, but not the property where it resides, entrepreneurs Sandro Capotosti and Ruggeromassimo Jannuzzelli paid €1.96 million for the Moto Morini name, IP, and other proprietary assets.
With both investors saying they have an emotional tie to Moto Morini motorcycles, they also both come with some serious business acumen. For instance, Capotosti is the former chairman of the Banca Profilo and Jannuzzelli was the former VP and Group CEO of Camuzzi, an Italian energy group.
Based out of Milan, the two entrepreneurs formed the company “Eagle Bike” to act as the purchasing entity, which bid 10,000 over the asking price, thus assuring a sale during this second auction of Moto Morini. Moto Morini originally went on the market with a €5.5 million price tag for the company and its premises, or €2.6 million for just the brand and its related assets. When no bids were received at this price point, Moto Morini’s administrator lowered the prices to €4.65 million and €1.95 million, respectively.
It still remains to be seen what the Eagle Bike crew plans do with the Moto Morini brand that will ensure the company’s sustainable future. With the cost of manufacturing in Italy being extravagantly high, we wouldn’t be surprised if production was moved elsewhere, a reality that has some legs since Eagle Bike didn’t make an offer on the Bologna premises.
The company has said that it wants to have an international presence, which would at least hint to some of the Italian brand’s bikes making it to the United States, though the better business move would be entering markets like India, Brazil, and Southeast Asia.
Source: OmniMoto.it
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