Hero to acquire EBR's consulting business

New Delhi: The American unit of Hero MotoCorp Ltd, India’s largest two-wheeler maker, has entered into a settlement agreement to acquire bike maker Erik Buell Racing’s (EBR) consulting business for $2.8 million, the company said on Tuesday.

Hero MotoCorp had in 2013 bought 49% stake in the Wisconsin, US-based bike maker and technology provider for Rs.150 crore. EBR, in April, shut operations and filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors.

Hero MotoCorp’s American unit has agreed to acquire the ownership of certain “tangible and intangible assets” of the EBR entities as identified in the settlement agreement, which will be free and clear of all encumbrances, the statement said. As per the agreement, the assets of EBR entities being bought by Hero will be excluded by the court-appointed receiver from any other sale relating “to the Chapter 128 Receivership”.

“The performance of the settlement agreement will help the company’s in-house research and development (R&D) teams to accelerate development of certain consulting projects, including the projects EBR was executing for Hero MotoCorp at the time of filing of the Chapter 128 Receivership,” the company said.

Mint had reported on 21 April that five products of Hero may get affected due to EBR filing for bankruptcy.

These are sportsbike HX250R, electric scooters Leap and SimplEcity, hydrogen fuel-cell bike iON, and diesel bike RnT.

Erik Buell, a former motorcycle racer, is renowned for his engineering skills in motorcycle racing.

In 1983, he started a company to make motorcycles in Wisconsin. Harley-Davidson Inc. eventually took over the unit, distributing Buell Motorcycle machines through its dealers.

Shortly after the Buell division closed in 2009 due to a global slump, Erik Buell launched EBR.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.