Norton Nearing the End?

NORTON NEARING THE END?

NORTON, BRITAIN'S OLDest manufacturer of motorcycles, continues to teeter on the brink of bankruptcy, buoyed only by cash injections from the banks who control the company's paper and who are trying to find a way to revitalize the firm.

A 15-month investigation by noted British businessman and BBC troubleshooter Sir John Harvey-Jones concluded that the company is not only

bust, but has no business trying to build and sell motorcycles on its current reduced scale and limited volume. Harvey-Jones recommended that Norton sell its aircraft-engine business and reorganize its motorcycle division under more realistic objectives. His televised report made no mention of talks between Norton Chief Executive David McDonald and Cagiva, even though the fact of those talks is well-established. The obstacle between a Norton-Cagiva link apparently is that Norton continues to worship the rotary engine, while Cagiva’s principals insist upon a return to the piston engine for Norton motorcycles.

The company now finds itself in a race to restructure by unloading some of its accumulated debt so it can attract the financial rescue package put together by a group of London investors. -Alan Cathcart