It took 3 court-ordered auctions to sell all the assets (intangible and manufacturing assets) of Erik Buell Racing of East Troy. At the auction held yesterday January 13 at the Walworth County Circuit Court, Liquid Asset Partners located in Grand Rapids, Michigan bought Buell Assets for a little bit above 2 million. Bruce Belfer from Atlantic Metal Group in New Jersey who won the 1st auction with a bid at 2.5 million was unable to raise the funds to close the deal and was denied again at the second auction for the same reason.
It was in a surprise announcement in April 2015 Erik Buell Racing (EBR) informed its 130 employees that the company was stopping all its operations. During a Wisconsin court proceeding equivalent to a bankruptcy court in other US states, Earlier, India company Hero Motocorp – owner of 43% of EBR’s shares, acquired EBR’s consulting business for $2.8 million
After yesterday’s 3rd auction, court appointed receiver Michael Polsky mentioned in his legal filing that the bid received by Liquid Asset Partners, being in excess of the liquidation value of EBR remaining manufacturing assets, is in the best interest of all creditors.
I immediately called Bill Melvin, President of Liquid Assets Partners, to get more information. Below, his official press release to me.
“The sale of Erik Buell Racing was approved today in Walworth County Circuit Court with Grand Rapids, MI based Liquid Asset Partners as the winning bidder.
Erik Buell Racing (EBR) is an East Troy, WI motorcycle manufacturer that ceased operations in April 2015. EBR was involved in a venture in 2014 with Hero MotoCorp Ltd., which ended in a settlement in July 2015. EBR was founded by Erik Buell in 2010 after Harley-Davidson ceased operations of the Buell Motorcycle Company in 2009. Liquid Asset Partners was successful in purchasing the assets after a nine month process by the Court Receiver. Liquid Asset Partners has a long history in the motorcycle industry working with major manufacturers & distributors to sell assets and intellectual property. They plan to run a simple two part sale process. Part one is working to secure a new buyer who has the proper experience, financial ability, and desire to continue manufacturing EBR’s motorcycles for many years to come. Part two will be a sale of excess assets to help streamline the operations.
“I believe Erik Buell Racing (EBR) has established themselves as one of the premier motorcycle manufacturers in the world and has strong potential as a viable business,” said Bill Melvin, CEO of Liquid Asset Partners. “ Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on research and design to arrive at the EBR RS, RX, and SX platforms, which have proven themselves on the racing circuit to be state of the art and in dealer sales to be in high demand. Their bikes, out of the box, can go head to head with the top Italian race bikes. Our sale process will enable the proper exposure of the company and price flexibility that may better fit a new owner to move forward with operations. We believe any plan needs to include the support of the great team of employees of EBR. We will be working closely with management to formulate the plan. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and any interested parties or investors should contact us immediately.”
Liquid Asset Partners is a very knowledgeable player in the motorcycle industry with a wide array of high level contacts across the globe. From their experience with American Ironhorse in 2009 and the Indian Motorcycle Company in 2004 (they tried to acquire the I.P.), they understand the sale of the business could take time, possibly up to one year. In the event it does take time, Liquid Asset plans to work with the remaining EBR management to streamline the Intellectual Property, tooling, and core manufacturing assets needed for a potential new owner.
“There are still a lot of options on the table for a new owner to come in and continue making EBRs. EBR is not a start up, this is an established brand with a huge following across the globe. With the internet, motorcyclists everywhere will know this business is still for sale and we will be open to discussing options,” continued Melvin. “Tell everyone! Maybe it will be crowd sourced, maybe a private investor will step in, maybe we will provide financing for the right team to move forward, or maybe a large manufacturer will acquire the brand with additional due diligence. Our hope is that someone will continue to manufacture these amazing motorcycles and with our acquisition we are adding more pavement to the road so that can happen.”
Background on Liquid Asset Partners: Since 1974, their management team has worked with banks, retailers, courts, manufacturers, and investors. They make cash purchases or run commission disposition sales in retail, wholesale, industrial and motorsports industries. Past work in the motorcycle industry by the management team includes the Cannondale Motorcycle Factory in 2002, the Indian Motorcycle Factory in 2004, the American Ironhorse Motorcycle Factory in 2009, the Buell Factory in 2010, and assisting with the sales of major distributors, dealers, and suppliers.
Parties interested in Erik Buell Racing as a viable business should contact Liquid Asset Partners at 616.719.5917 to sign an NDA and receive additional information on the sale process. Parties interested in the Sale of Excess Assets should sign up for email updates at Liquid Assets Partners or Facebook Liquid Assets Partners
So Asset strip and sell off the name with the minimum amount manufacturing equipment to start again or just sell everything including the name and make a profit.
Either way it might be the end. Let us hope not.
i wonder if the recent closure/troubles will be mentioned in the documentary movie theyre working on?
I hope Bill Melvin is able to sell Buell either to Polaris or H-D
2 million bucks…unreal…I have a buddy who lives in New Zealand that tells me Buell sold good over that side of the pond.
I think it’s good news. The US mc industry would be better with Buell in business.
I agree, it’s good news. Erik Buell must be happy. He gets one more chance to do again what he loves to do. Conceiving, designing and manufacturing motorcycles. Victory wants to be in Performance explained to us Cyril a week ago. Victory should buy Buell.
Victory doesn’t need Buell, he’s an albatross. Victory already has everything Buell could provide them and more. He’s not going to be doing anything with EBR, Hero owns him now. If “EBR” is resurrected as a company it will have as much to do with Eric Buell as Indian Motorcycles today has to do with Hindee and Henderson.
Being a fan of Eric Buell for many years, I would love to see him be able to proceed with his motorcycle vision, whether large or small scale manufacturing… well actually small would likely be best.
I have been keen on his desire to make the v-twin style engine and light frame combo be all it could be, and I miss that Harley no longer has interest in a light & powerful twin to power cruise or weekend race with with your buddies, even though I don’t do it much these days myself (sucks gettin’ older).
I hope Buell does well, and like mentioned above, maybe Polaris/Indian could use a little help pumping up a variation of the new Scout.
Buell bikes were quirkyand certainly not world beaters.
There are plenty of talented engineers out there that can do a much better job without the stigma attached to this guy.
I do truly lament the passing of Buell motorcycles. But in all reality Mr. Buell isn’t offering anything other than quirky bikes that perform just as well as much cheaper and more conventional bikes.
So what happened to those Cannondale, Gilroy-Indian, American Ironhorse and the HD-Buell remaining bikes and manufacturing equipment?
As I remember, after some failed attempts at resuscitation, they all were broken down and sold off in a series of auctions. Am I wrong? Most AIH and Buell used bikes are selling for fractions of their once lofty prices.
The EBR is about 80% of a good bike but technology is what is differentiating the modern super sport bikes and advancing their performance, in that area EBR is in the JV league. Example: no ABS model ever shipped to dealers. The EBR RS is nowhere near the level of sophistication of a BMW S1000RR, Ducati Panigale or Yamaha R1 and unlikely to be able to keep up.
The big-bore naked bike market isn’t the biggest market segment and the SX certainly can’t out-power or meet the level of technology of the current European offerings. EBR isn’t a player in the growing Adventure bike market and can’t just jump in without major investments in development.
My forecast? Liquid Assets will offer as a company for a short period and without a buyer, they will sell off by auction. RIP EBR
Like Bob & David said. Maybe fun for Mr. Buell, but doesn’t really fill a need and certainly there’s no need to continue leaving a trail of unpaid bills and dumped off workers while “doing what he loves to do”. The bikes were interesting, but hobbled from the start by using a sporty as a starting point. Who the heck builds a ground-up sportbike around an XL mill. Kind of like the Formula Vee race cars of days gone back-fun, but only within their own class and no amount of tweaking would produce a winner against F1’s. Harley & Buell hurt each other with the whole deal and eventual slow death. Good engineer? Obviously! The bike and automotive world a full of good engineers, but there always needs to be a product and business plan that makes sense if you want to be a manufacturer rather than an expensive hobby.
I think Buell missed the boat by developing not developing an AX model sooner. I understand why – it’s easier to remove some fairings, change the ergonomics a bit, and produce a naked sport bike than it is to completely redesign for an adventure oriented bike.
The ADV market is still expanding and most buyers have a better appetite for an expensive bike. I understand that it’s really more “sport touring” than ADV for 99% of those riders, but adding a few farkles and a capable ADV suspension, and you’re competing with the KTM’s, BMW’s, and other high end ADV bikes. It seems that there are plenty of people willing to pay $15k for a farkled up sport tourer that *might* see the dirt once in a while.
I have two Buells – a XB12R Firebolt and a XB12X Ulysses, and I love both of them. The Firebolt is a fun bike to ride, and the Ulysses is a mile-eater that’s capable of almost anything I throw at it. However, I know they won’t last forever, and I hope that I can replace them someday with another Buell. I test rode the SX, and it was an amazing bike to ride. Sure, you pay a premium for a “quirky” bike – but that’s part of the appeal, to have something a little different.
I like a bike with character, Buell’s have always had that when compared to the other bike manufacturers. That one thing that has always scared the majority of riders/buyers of motorcycles is being too far away from the “norm” and that is the sweet spot of a Buell.
They are a blast to ride, and you should try one sometime.
@ Bob, I respect your opinion, but I can’t agree with the concept of prospective buyers being scared of anything regarding the Buell. I worked with a guy who got an early one (can’t remember the model-still had a giant muffler can under it) and I swapped bikes with him one day on our 12 miles ride home (he was curious how my old ’94 CBR1000F “led sled” compared. I liked the Buell’s low end torque and V2 sound, but there wasn’t anything that made me want his bike over mine. A few years later I took a ZX14 out. No mystery to me why Buells didn’t sell. Nothing wrong with a niche bike, but no reason to keep subsidizing one.
All valid points, the customer is always right. Things like ABS, traction control – EBR could have easily adapted them by now using technologies from the likes of Brembo. They are not fundamental to brand differentiation. Some EBR traits & technology strategies were. And a growing demographic was evolving (having sold Buells with some success at a dealership) An adventure bike, on the other hand, is not something EBR could tepidly derive. A faithful, I would have been an early adopter. I long ago recognized living in the foothills of the Rocky Mtns that many a GS rider has all the panniers and gadgets only to ride in traffic to get to work. I’ve enjoyed my Ulysses more getting to the two-tracks than GS riders get to enjoy them in that off-road environment.
Anybody have Steve Menneto’s email address?