A year after Onyx Motorcycles owner James Khatiblou passed away suddenly, leaving customers with unfulfilled orders and millions of dollars in unpaid debt, the brand has been revived by its original founder.
“I'm excited to announce that I'm bringing back my original brand Onyx with incredible support!” founder Tim Seward wrote in a LinkedIn post on Monday. “Onyx is literally back in the future!”
Initially, the company will only sell about 100 RCR electric dirt bikes. It's unclear whether these are newly produced units or part of a fleet of e-bikes manufactured by Onyx's Chinese supplier earlier this year that has been stalled since Katibou's death.
Seward was unable to provide TechCrunch with information about the company's resurgence and the investors it has secured to back it.
Seward, who designed e-bikes for Bird and Ubco, created the first Onyx e-bike, the RCR, in 2016. After launching the company two years later with an Indiegogo campaign, its designs became a cult favorite. It found a following with customers who loved the made-in-the-USA feel, the charm of the 1980s design with its wood body, and the bike's powerful features.
In 2019, Mr. Seward sold his Onyx shares to his friend and former colleague Mr. Katiburou, who stumbled as a first-time owner as he tried to expand the company. Many of the decisions he made created a web of legal and financial problems that remains unresolved to this day. Mr Katibu died without a will or a succession plan, meaning all operations, including deliveries to customers and payments to suppliers and creditors, came to a halt.
The Orange County-based creditor, Oxygen Funding, claimed it owed $2.2 million. In May, Oxygen attempted to petition the Los Angeles County Probate Court to become the administrator of Catibou's estate, taking control of Onyx's remaining assets and ostensibly selling them to pay off the debt.
Oxygen CEO Adam Lomax told TechCrunch on Tuesday that he had no knowledge of Onyx's resurgence under Seward. He also noted that Oxygen's petition for administration of Mr. Hatibrow's estate is still pending, a court date has not yet been set, and that repayments to his company have not yet been made. did.
Oxygen wasn't the only creditor vying for a piece of Onyx. Under a 2019 operating agreement, Kenneth Ames, a former engineering and procurement executive for a Simi Valley-based LED lighting business, and Troy Smith, a self-employed accountant based in Carlsbad, signed Onyx LLC. The company owns a 37.5% interest in the company. According to the trademark assignment agreement, Onyx LLC is also the entity that owns the Onyx brand.
It's unclear whether Ames and Smith are involved in Onyx's revival. TechCrunch reached out to Ames, Troy and their lawyers for more details. TechCrunch will update this article if we hear back.