The reality of Harley-Davidson's recent corporate decisions are taking place with several key news stories making headlines.

The Milwaukee motorcycle manufacturer announced it would divest itself of Buell motorcycles after gaining full control of the smaller company in 2003 and its more recent acquisition, MV Agusta, bought in 2008.

Harley-Davidson announced its plans in October as part of its go-forward business strategy to focus its effort and investment on leveraging the unique strengths of the Harley-Davidson brand to reach new customers, strengthen relationships with existing customers, and grow the Harley-Davidson brand worldwide.

The founder of Buell motorcycles, Erik Buell announced last week he would start an independent motorcycle racing shop.
 
To shed itself of Italian motorcycle manufacturer MV Agusta Harley-Davidson has selected the investment banking firm, BNP Paribas in Milan and is reportedly identifying potential buyers.

While Harley-Davidson intends to sell MV Agusta, MV Agusta has continued to move forward on the road to revitalization.
 
Under Harley-Davidson’s ownership, MV Agusta has restored production operations and continues to invest substantially in product development, as evidenced by the recent unveiling of the all new Brutale® and F4® models, which generated a highly enthusiastic response among customers and key trade media at the Milan show. MV Agusta is also returning to a position of prominence in the premium performance sport motorcycle category.

“MV Agusta is a highly desirable company for the right buyer,” said Harley-Davidson Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer John Olin. “MV Agusta has a proud heritage and strong brand, high-quality exciting and beautiful products, and passionate enthusiasm on the part of its customers, employees and dealers, and we are confident in our expectation that we will identify an appropriate buyer.”