Today's Moscow Times on Benelli Acquisition
Discussion
Wednesday, August 17, 2005. Issue 3232. Page 5.
http://www.moscowtimes.ru/stories/2005/08/17/041.html
Smolensky Falls for Posh Bike
By Greg Walters
Staff Writer
QCQL.com
Smolensky Jr. has now set his sights on Italy's luxury Benelli motorcycles.
Nikolai Smolensky, the son of one of Russia's original oligarchs, is close to buying his second Western luxury automotive company in just over a year: the Italian motorcycle manufacturer Benelli.
Smolensky has nearly closed the Benelli deal but still has to get approval from the Italian unions at the factory, said Ian Law, a spokesman for Smolensky's British-based car company, TVR, on Tuesday.
"We are in the process of buying it," Law said by telephone from Blackpool, where TVR is based. "It won't be confirmed until the unions have their say. We could be four weeks off."
Smolensky, the 25-year-old son of former banking magnate Alexander Smolensky, roared into the automotive world in July 2004 with the purchase of TVR, a British luxury carmaker.
Law declined to say how much Smolensky had agreed to pay for Benelli. The Italian company did not return calls for comment Tuesday, and Smolensky could not be reached.
Benelli appears to be a tight fit with TVR. Both produce small numbers of expensive, flashy, very fast vehicles. Both have also lost money in recent years.
Ben Purvis, an industry expert and writer for the British-based magazine Motor Cycle News, said buying Benelli would likely set Smolensky back by less than ?20 million ($36.1 million).
Smolensky has never said how much he paid for TVR, but unconfirmed media reports said he paid $27 million. He also reportedly made a failed bid earlier this year for Britain's MG Rover.
Andrea Merloni, who owns and operates Benelli, said last year that the business posted a loss in 2003 on sales of 20 million euros ($24.7 million).
The company has two main models: the Tornado sport bike, and the TNT, a larger roadster. The company produces about 4,000 to 5,000 total of those two models every year, Purvis said.
"They're very desirable bikes, but much more expensive than the Japanese competition," Purvis said.
The Tornado goes for about $20,800, and the TNT is listed at about $17,200 -- several thousand dollars more than comparable Japanese models from Suzuki or Honda.
Law denied reports that Smolensky was planning to move Benelli production to Blackpool.
TVR lost ?11.3 million ($20.4 million) last year, Law said, partly due to a three-month production gap to improve equipment.
Law said Smolensky had been heavily involved in TVR's daily operations, including design, since becoming owner. "He's more than a micro-manager," Law said. Smolensky visits the plant almost weekly, Law said.
Alexander Smolensky, presided over the Russia's biggest-ever bank failure in 1998, when his SBS-Agro bank collapsed. He once famously told The Wall Street Journal that his foreign creditors deserved nothing but "dead donkey ears."
http://www.moscowtimes.ru/stories/2005/08/17/041.html
Smolensky Falls for Posh Bike
By Greg Walters
Staff Writer
QCQL.com
Smolensky Jr. has now set his sights on Italy's luxury Benelli motorcycles.
Nikolai Smolensky, the son of one of Russia's original oligarchs, is close to buying his second Western luxury automotive company in just over a year: the Italian motorcycle manufacturer Benelli.
Smolensky has nearly closed the Benelli deal but still has to get approval from the Italian unions at the factory, said Ian Law, a spokesman for Smolensky's British-based car company, TVR, on Tuesday.
"We are in the process of buying it," Law said by telephone from Blackpool, where TVR is based. "It won't be confirmed until the unions have their say. We could be four weeks off."
Smolensky, the 25-year-old son of former banking magnate Alexander Smolensky, roared into the automotive world in July 2004 with the purchase of TVR, a British luxury carmaker.
Law declined to say how much Smolensky had agreed to pay for Benelli. The Italian company did not return calls for comment Tuesday, and Smolensky could not be reached.
Benelli appears to be a tight fit with TVR. Both produce small numbers of expensive, flashy, very fast vehicles. Both have also lost money in recent years.
Ben Purvis, an industry expert and writer for the British-based magazine Motor Cycle News, said buying Benelli would likely set Smolensky back by less than ?20 million ($36.1 million).
Smolensky has never said how much he paid for TVR, but unconfirmed media reports said he paid $27 million. He also reportedly made a failed bid earlier this year for Britain's MG Rover.
Andrea Merloni, who owns and operates Benelli, said last year that the business posted a loss in 2003 on sales of 20 million euros ($24.7 million).
The company has two main models: the Tornado sport bike, and the TNT, a larger roadster. The company produces about 4,000 to 5,000 total of those two models every year, Purvis said.
"They're very desirable bikes, but much more expensive than the Japanese competition," Purvis said.
The Tornado goes for about $20,800, and the TNT is listed at about $17,200 -- several thousand dollars more than comparable Japanese models from Suzuki or Honda.
Law denied reports that Smolensky was planning to move Benelli production to Blackpool.
TVR lost ?11.3 million ($20.4 million) last year, Law said, partly due to a three-month production gap to improve equipment.
Law said Smolensky had been heavily involved in TVR's daily operations, including design, since becoming owner. "He's more than a micro-manager," Law said. Smolensky visits the plant almost weekly, Law said.
Alexander Smolensky, presided over the Russia's biggest-ever bank failure in 1998, when his SBS-Agro bank collapsed. He once famously told The Wall Street Journal that his foreign creditors deserved nothing but "dead donkey ears."
and with the mention of the failed MG bid it looks like NS is trying to sort out his own automotive group. Good luck to the lad is all I can sayGassing Station | General TVR Stuff & Gossip | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff