On Friday, TVS Motor Company has acquired One of the most iconic British motorcycle brands, Norton Motorcycles. The acquisition was made for GBP16 million (Rs 153.12 crore).
For this deal, a new company named Project 303 Bidco Ltd. was incorporated and then acquired by TVS Motor’s Singapore subsidiary for 1 pound. Following that, the subsidiary signed a purchase agreement to acquire certain assets including the Norton and other associated brands. The transaction will not be treated as a related party transaction, TVS said in a stock exchange filing.
TVS Motor Company said in a regulatory filing,
We wish to inform you that an overseas subsidiary of TVS Motor Company Ltd (TVS Motor) has today (17 April, 2020) signed an asset purchase agreement with, amongst others, Norton Motorcycles Holdings Ltd (in administration) and Norton Motorcycles (UK) Ltd (in administration) (together Norton) to acquire certain assets from Norton, including, the brand Norton and other associated brands. The transaction was also completed simultaneously
Norton Motorcycles was born in 1898, founded by James Lansdowne Norton, in Birmingham and is among the most popular British motorcycle brands of all time with a product mix ranging from classic models to an eclectic range of luxury motorcycles including super-bikes.
Norton Motorcycles has manufactured products like V4 RR, Dominator, Commando 961 Cafe Racer MK II and Commando 961 Sport MK II. TVS plans to branch out into more premium models from its current line-up of two-wheelers used by commuters.
However, post the acquisition, TVS plans to keep that identity intact. “Norton will continue to retain its distinctive identity with dedicated and specific business plans,” Sudarshan Venu, joint managing director of TVS Motor said.
This reminds us that in 2008, Tata Group acquired the Jaguar Land Rover for $2.3 Billion. As carefully pointed out by Business Insider, both Tata Motors (in 2008) and TVS Motor (now), saw their respective deals as a marker for their prominence in the global arena.
