Audi is in talks to buy Ducati for its lightweight engine know-how, its racetrack pedigree and the distinctive sound and styling of its motorcycles.
Two sources familiar with the matter said Audi, the premium car division Europe's top automaker Volkswagen, was in discussions with the private equity group that controls the Italian firm about a purchase.
A successful deal would extend Audi's long-standing rivalry with BMW to superbikes, and add expertise about high-revving light engines to VW's engineering portfolio, which ranges from cars through heavy trucks to ship engines.
For Audi, whose Ingolstadt headquarters has become a key research and development center for lightweight fuel-saving technologies, Ducati's engine technology could add a new development dimension.
One of the sources said Audi was conducting due diligence and a decision about a purchase could come by mid-April.
Volkswagen, Audi and Ducati's main shareholder, Investindustrial, declined comment.
Ducati was founded in 1926, and over the past 60 years has scored 17 Manufacturers’ World championship titles and most recently won the 2011 World Superbike championship.
On the streets, Ducati counts actors Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt among clients for its distinctive steel-framed machines with their loud, barking engines.
Ferdinand Piech, current VW chairman and grandson of VW Beetle creator Ferdinand Porsche, is himself a Ducati rider.
“I LIKE EVERYTHING RED”
Investindustrial said in February it was looking for a “world class industrial partner” for Ducati, to help fund overseas expansion.
The Financial Times quoted Investindustrial chairman Andrea Bonomi as saying it was looking to sell, and in a report on Tuesday it put the price at about €850 million euros (R8.44 billion) of which €800 million (R7.9 billion) would be acquired debt.
At his annual earnings conference on Monday, VW chief executive Martin Winterkorn dropped a hint that Europe's largest auto maker may be on the lookout to snap up the Bologna-based maker of the “Ducati Monster” bike.
“I like everything that's red,” Winterkorn said when asked about Ducati - a reference to the fire-engine red fuel tanks which have become a hallmark for Ducati bikes.
Ducati would join carmakers Lamborghini, Skoda, Seat, Bentley, Audi and Bugatti, and truck makers MAN and Scania in the VW stable.
VW's Piech has long coveted the Italian company and on repeated occasions lamented missing an opportunity to buy the motorbike maker after it fell on hard times.
In an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung in June 2008, Piech said VW could learn from Ducati's approach to building lightweight engines.
‘We can learn something here.”
“A one-litre motorcycle engine can produce 150kW,” Piech said. “Small engines are also better from the point of view of fuel consumption. We can learn something here.”
Tapping motorcycle expertise is not unprecedented for car companies. BMW bought Husqvarna Motorcycles in 2007, and built a research and development centre in Cassinetta di Biandronno, 300km north of Bologna, where Ducati is based.
BMW, which makes the Ducati rival S1000 RR superbike, on Tuesday forecast it would reach its long-term sales target for cars four years earlier than planned, presenting Audi with a bigger challenge to clinch the crown of becoming the biggest selling premium auto maker. - Reuters