Luxury car brand Audi has bought Italian motorcyle maker Ducati.
Ducati's Monster 796 Image: Ducati |
In one of the more unlikely automotive acquisitions so far this Century, the luxury German car maker has paid an estimated €860m ($1.4bn) for one of the world's iconic motorcycle brands. The purchase will allow VW, which owns Audi, to compete against rival BMW in the high-end 'bike market.
Ducati, 70% owned by venture capitalists Investindustrial since 2006, is renowned for super-fast motorcycles which generate an unmistakable sound from their 'Desmo' V-twin engines and head-turning looks from stunning design. Classics such as the Monster - which now boasts a diesel-engined version - and the current Panigale Superbike, have grown from a business founded by the three Ducati brothers in 1926.
Ducati also has an outstanding 'track record', developing racing bikes that have lifted numerous titles in the World Superbike Championships, as well as coming back in 2003 to MotoGP and lifting the title in 2007 - having taken a 30 year break from the Grand Prix scene.
Although the first motorcycle brand to come under VW's stewardship - VW's Chairman Ferdinand Piëch is a motorcycle fan - it is not by any means the automaker's first iconic brand; the German company owns both Lamborghini and Bentley.