Things may have been awry for Hero MotoCorp's former partner Erik Buell Racing (EBR) over the past year with the bankruptcy, but not all is lost. The American motorcycle maker that was previously in a joint venture with Hero has now been sold again to Liquid Asset Partners for $2.05 million (approx. Rs. 13.94 crore).
Liquid Asset Partners completed the purchase process nine months after the EBR first filed for bankruptcy in April 2015. This is the third auction of the bike maker after the winner of the first auction, Bruce Belfer failed to deliver the required funds before the deadline. Liquid Asset Partners won the second auction, but a third was conducted due to certain discrepancies which eventually went to the same company.
Also Read: Hero MotoCorp Acquires EBR's Consultancy Resources
With the sales proceeding completed for good, Liquid Asset Partners will be settling EBR's debts with the outstanding creditors. The company is optimistic of getting the American motorcycle maker up and running as it believes the bike maker to have potential with some highly competitive products including the EBR RS, RX and SX platforms. Hero's association with EBR was expected to catapult the Indian automaker in the performance space and the former even played a crucial role in the development of the Karizma facelifts and the highly anticipated HX250R. It was also expected that Hero would introduce EBR's superbike lineup in India, but those plans won't see fruition anymore.
Liquid Asset Partners is expecting to find a buyer for EBR in a year's time and will work with the motorcycle maker in the meanwhile to streamline its intellectual property, tooling and core manufacturing assets needed for a potential new owner. This is certainly reassuring for EBR fans and existing owners as the company will indeed make a comeback.
Also Read: Hero's Former Partner Eric Buell Racing Set for Auction Yet Again
Talking about Liquid Asset Partners, the company makes cash purchases or run commission disposition sales in retail, wholesale, industrial and motorsports industries. They are a known entity in the global motorcycle industry having worked with several major manufacturers including Cannondale Motorcycle Factory in 2002, the Indian Motorcycle Factory in 2004, the American Ironhorse Motorcycle Factory in 2009, the Buell Factory in 2010 and distributors as well as dealers to sell assets and intellectual property over the years.
