If you’ve been following the ongoing KTM drama closely, then chances are good that you already know that Bajaj Auto, through its wholly owned subsidiary Bajaj Auto International Holdings BV (based in the Netherlands), already has a 49.9% stake in Pierer Bajaj AG (which goes by the acronym PBAG, and I swear I’m not making that up).
The controlling ownership of PBAG, however, has historically been owned by Pierer Industrie AG, which is wholly owned by Stefan Pierer. Through the complicated nature of corporate holding structures, thus far, PBAG has held an approximately 75% stake in Pierer Mobility AG (PMAG), which is the parent company of KTM AG. Picture it like a corporate version of Russian nesting dolls, with a distinctly orange center in this case.
Up until this point, that means that Bajaj has previously held an estimated 37.5% stake in KTM. That is, until Bajaj just did what it did earlier this week, and took out significant loans so it could pull KTM back from the brink of no return.
