| Author | Message | ||
     Trackdad |
Hummmm.... seems things are getting interesting! http://www.reuters.com/article/idCNN16251531201003 16?rpc=44 | ||
| Paw |
Wishful thinking that the possible buyers are Buell fans. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Hmmmmm. What if the retention of Buell were as a deal sweetener for a buy out bid? | ||
| Firebolt020283 |
maybe if for no other reason the people who buyout H-D will maybe be willing to sell buell to someone else like maybe EB and some investors. | ||
| Ducbsa |
AMF??  | ||
| Buellkowski |
Just what I was thinking. Imagine little "KKR" initials under each orange shield... | ||
| Drkside79 |
What if the retention of Buell were as a deal sweetener for a buy out bid? If so why sell of all of the Buell equipment at a liquidation sale. I think unfortunately Buell as we know it is dead. I do look forward to the future however and pray Erick gets picked up elsewhere. I would buy a 2013 EbuelL I can see the models now... The Electrical Discharge The Thunderclap The FuegoBolt The Odysseus The Fiddler Crab | ||
| Oldog |
Worked for a co that was "owned" by KKR don't get your hopes up. it will likely be more of the same, If any thing things will get worse as management will try to manage their way outa trouble, look for finger pointing and more heads rolling at FOMOCO Erik is wise to be clear of the mess, perhaps he had the forsite to see this comming, the 200 year plan and all. | ||
| Buell920 |
If so why sell of all of the Buell equipment at a liquidation sale. I think unfortunately Buell as we know it is dead. did you see the crap they were selling. non of the good stuff needed to build or replicate a bike just the run off junks that would cost to much to move (say to York?). think a little about the time line of what took place and how fast EBR was started ( along with the licence, contracts, legal fees to start a company ext......) I think some people were allowed to see into the crystal ball and decided to bail than see a Harley family called Buell just like the Softail,Dyna,XL,Touring,VRSCA. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Also keep in mind that virtually every part of a Buell was produced by an outside vendor. NONE of that machinery is dismantled. They have had to keep those parts available for parts for the next 7 years. Frame, engine, wheels, components, body panels, electronics, all produced by third party vendors. The things that were sold in East Troy are the easiest to replace, generic tools, tables, assembly lines, etc. The problem still comes down to distribution, though. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
distribution.... I think Highline has that one solved. No dealership frontage. (hell we all know what we want anyways) Kiosk ordering , or internet ordering with shipment in a week...... It will be an interesting model to see develop, they are suppose to go live this month. http://www.ushighland.com/ | ||
| Milt |
I enjoyed this book involving KKR (this time with Nabisco) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbarians_at_the_Gat e I think Court posted about the possibility of getting some investment bankers involved. Let's hope something good (outside of a few executives getting very rich) comes of this. Maybe the distribution problem can be solved in a non-traditional way, but that's fodder for another thread. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Would the dealerships who were pro-Buell before the demise pick Buell back up? Given Buell separate from HD, would dealerships bother? I know some are starting to sell scooters and dirt bikes. I just don't think any distribution model without local dealership support is going to work. Who would drop $13,000 on a bike sight unseen? Most want to have a servicing dealership. How would warranty issues be resolved? | ||
| Daves |
Bet there could be a dealership in La Porte City Iowa  | ||
| Danger_dave |
It's a hard road. Victory currently has no retailer in NZ. The two they have started up so far have failed and the brand can't get a foothold beyond a small core of enthusiasts. The distributors of the existing franchises have vetoed the new brand's inclusion on 'their' outlet floors. They make it a choice - 'sure you can sell Victory - but we'll find another outlet for Suzuki' (eg). Not a hard decision. | ||
| Milt |
There are a couple of really good dealers in TN...  | ||
| Bcordb3 |
Who is KKR and do they give a crap about motorcycles. | ||
| Milt |
http://www.kkr.com/ You're right. They don't give a crap about motorcycles - just money. That's not necessarily bad. It just means that maybe someone will be taking H-D over (or not...) | ||
| Milt |
Actually, it looks like they actually hold equity positions a companies these days. | ||
| Steve_mackay |
Ummm... not really, and not likely either. | ||
| Two_buells |
Who is KKR? http://www.kkr.com/company/company_overview.cfm Fantasy: Bombardier is the Don pulling the strings. HD didn't want to sell Buell so Bombardier will just buy the whole company in a LBO. that would just be too cuell! (Message edited by two_buells on March 16, 2010) | ||
| Badlionsfan |
And then shut down Harley and bring back Buell. How funny would that be? | ||
| Two_buells |
this makes the most sense from The Motley Fool---Harley Pump & Dump http://caps.fool.com/Blogs/ViewPost.aspx?bpid=3545 15&t=01000150446928997767 Wow...Harley-Davidson is on a tear today! Folks must be excited about the prospects of a stabilizing economy, improving job numbers and rising consumer confidence....oh, wait..... Nope, just another bogus rumor swirling around about a buyout. This happens every so often with HOG. Two years ago, the rumor was that Honda was proffering a deal to buy up the iconic bike maker. This time it's Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. Harley-Davidson has had a difficult few years, and has some work left to do in front of them. But, please, this is a solid, stable company with a decent cash reserve. Folks can talk about declining sales, aging boomers and hyper-sport bikes all they want. HOG is not in a vulnerable position. Quite the opposite. The downturn has forced the company to get lean. CEO Keith Wandell took the reins about a year ago and has made the tough choices to shut down the unprofitable Buell subsidiary, undo the mistake of purchasing MV Agusta, shutter factories and re-organize the York assembly plant. The company reduced its workforce and product complexity. This is a company that is now poised for growth in a 3 year timeframe. There is no advantage to HOG stockholders or to the company to consider a leveraged buyout. Nor do I see value for a private equity firm to buy-up a controlling share of the company. No, what we are seeing here is a form of pump & dump. Rumor mongering to drive up the stock price for the day. Reprehesible. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Ummm... not really, and not likely either. Well, HD did put it in writing that they would provide continued support and parts for new Buells for 7 years from ~October 2009. The question is do they have a warehouse of spare Buell parts calculated to be sufficient to meet this need for 7 years, or have they made arrangements with the manufacturers of various Buell parts to produce them as needed for 7 more years. | ||
| Azxb9r |
I just don't think any distribution model without local dealership support is going to work. I agree that it would be hard to sell a brand to the motoring public without dealer support(Bad Webbers excepted  ) but there are several possibilities. HD of Tucson has been selling Piaggios for a couple years now, and they stayed on as a Buell servicing dealership. If Buell came into production again, I could see them picking back up as a dealer. You also have dealers like Ride Now Powersports that sell multiple brands under one roof. Since the demise of Buell, the remaining bikes have been selling pretty quickly, and I have seen more of them on the road over the past few months than ever before. Proper marketing could go a long way... | ||
| Rex |
I hate to hear KKR. All they are in it for is to make money. They come in, sell off half of the company, put in someone from their accounting group and run the company. Not usually someone from the company. An outsider that usually is not in the company, or doesn't necessarily know about the company. They are watching the dollars and expenses first. You are private and not on the stock market, but they rule. then later they bring you back to the market, and make a bundle selling off shares a little at a time. You are normally about half the size you were before. They do call them white knights. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Since the demise of Buell, the remaining bikes have been selling pretty quickly The count on the "bike locator" seems to be dropping pretty quickly. It was still over 1000 a week or so ago; it's 818 as of 6 PM tonight. | ||
| Brumbear |
Alot of folks would drop 10.5K site unseen say 1125 r and cr with the lower rated 146hp motor could go for 10.5 K at a loss for 2 years or production runs till they get em out there and get more interest. | ||
| D_adams |
WTF? Unprofitable? Didn't I see somewhere that Buell was the only one that showed serious GROWTH for the LAST 5 YEARS? | ||
| Larryjohn |
Growth does not equal profits. For a subsidiary like Buell profit is a game with numbers. What portion of shared expenses (say marketing or distribution) comes out of the subsidiary's bottom line? |
