According to Mint, an Indian business news publication, Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd subsidiary Classic Legends Pvt. Ltd has acquired British motorcycle firm BSA Co. Ltd. Better known for its agricultural machinery Mahindra does make small displacement motorcycle and scooters for the Indian market and their XTV 750cc and 1000cc UTVs are distributed in the U.S.
This acquisition will enable Mahindra’s Classic Legends subsidiary to sell, market and distribute BSA motorcycles globally. Mint reports Classic Legends acquired all 120,000 shares of BSA at £28.33 per share, aggregating approximately £3400,000. With a presence in Japan, Canada, Mexico, Malaysia and Singapore, BSA brought in £28,233 in fiscal 2015-16 — not exactly breaking the Bank of England.
Mahindra/Classic Legends has also picked up the Jawa name, signing a brand license agreement for India and select markets in Asia. Perhaps best known for speedway bikes in the U.S. generations of of Czechoslovakians and East Germans commuted on smoky two-stroke Jawas before the Berlin Wall came down. “With the acquisition of Classic Legends, M&M aims to co-create a lifestyle mobility company with exciting and relevant partners across products and services, and enter into previously untapped segments using iconic brands like BSA and JAWA,” Mahindra claims.
Jawa was actually distributed in India from the 1950s to the 1990s. Although Jawa still produces a few bikes, Mahindra will design and build brand-new machines for both brands. “Our focus on the premium, niche segment through Classic Legends will bring alive iconic brands like BSA and JAWA, not just in the form of products but as an entire lifestyle,” says Mahindra’s Executive Director Dr. Pawan Goenka. Plans call for both brands to be launched by 2018.
