Soon after rumours cropped up that Daimler AG, the parent of company of Mercedes Benz, was interested in buying Italian bike maker Ducati, the former denied the veracity of any such development. Leading daily newspaper Corriere della Sera had reported that the automotive giant was bidding against compatriot Audi in order to acquire the motorcycle brand.
“We have no interest in a takeover of Ducati.” stated Marc Binder, a spokesperson of Daimler, which already has a marketing alliance with Ducati. On the other hand, it is reported that Audi will buy Ducati for a price of approximately 875 million Euros in the near future.
Ducati has been the centre of attention of the industry for the past few weeks as several manufacturers have expressed interest to Investindustrial in buying this brand. However, the chairman of Investindustrial, Andrea Bonomi, stated in February 2012 “The further growth [Ducati] requires needs the support of a world-class industrial partner.”
If Audi follows through with its plans to acquire the iconic bike making company, it will bring the first motorcycle brand into Volkswagen's line up, which currently consists of 9 brands. With a biking brand in its portfolio, VW will be able to challenge BMW Motorrad, the motor cycle company floated by rival BMW. Moreover, with the knowledge about the light engines in its ranks, the manufacturer will have a better standing in the international arena.
Audi already has the technology needed to develop for cars to ships and is currently working on light engines at its Ingolstadt unit. According to Ferdinand Piech, the chairman of VW, “Small engines are also lower from the point of view of fuel consumption. We can learn something here."
Ducati's expertise with biking is well known across the world, as it has 17 titles of the manufacturer's World Championship as well as the 2011 World Superbike Championship. Some of the prominent names that have a bike from the stables of this Italian company include Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and Piech himself. If the deal is finalised, the brand will join the league of Seat, Bentley, Lamborghini, Skoda, Audi, Bugatti, MAN and Scania. It is also hosting meetings with Indian two wheeler major Hero MotoCorp, which seeks a partner to help improve its product portfolio.
