BAWAG bank sells piano manufacturer Boesendorfer

Vienna - Boesendorfer, Austria's famous but ailing piano manufacturer is to have a new owner. Boesendorfer will be sold to a consortium around Brodman Pianos, a local piano maker, cutting out Japanese piano producer Yamaha, who had put in a strong bid for Boesendorfer, Austria's ORF TV reported on Friday. Boesendorfer's sale comes as part of a consolidation drive of its owner, Austria's BAWAG bank. BAWAG had been taken over by US-funds Cerberus earlier this year. Brodman Pianos, run by a former Boesendorfer sales manager, paid just under 11 million euros (16.1 dollars) for the ailing piano manufacturer, media reports said. In 2006 Boesendorfer reported losses of 2 million euros. Its debts are estimated to be around 8 million euros. Rumours regarding a sale of the 1828-founded manufacture abroad led to controversies in Vienna's culture scene, raising fears that Austria would lose another one of its cultural icons to globalization. Staff representatives had demanded guarantees against production outsourcing abroad, stressing that a Boesendorfer piano had to be produced solely in Austria, or it would lose its unique status.© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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