The news that Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. is officially on sale came out just a few days ago on the Financial Times, but the whole automotive industry is already burning with excitement. Investindustrial Holding, the Italian group that controls the legendary motorcycle manufacturer, confirmed they are willing to sell their majority stake for something like 1 billion Euros (roughly 800 million £ / 1.3 billion $), but they are looking for a buyer/partner that would have the right resources to let Ducati continue its growth.

Ducati is one of the most legendary names in motorcycling, which made history through its many innovative models and outstanding success in racing, and it is well set-up in terms of facilities and technical knowledge, not to mention the value of the brand itself: it seems just normal that the biggest names in the business are so tempted by a company of this leverage. Since the news came in the open, many rumors have surfaced about who the ‘buyer’ could be, and BMW, Mercedes and Volkswagen (as well as Indian giant Mahindra) are among the ones that popped up more often.

Investindustrial Holding’s main man, Mr.Andrea Bonomi, said that the group would like to close the deal by the end of the current year, confirming that many American, Asian and European subjects have already shown some interest in the buyout. Having bought it in 2005 from US-based Texas-Pacific Group, the Italian private equity firm has been at the helm of the Ducati boat for over six years now, but Mr.Bonomi thinks that the time has come for a change: “At the moment Ducati is a perfect company, but in order to get to the next level it needs to find a strong partner that operates globally. This year we are going to work to find that partner“. After the jump we will look more closely at the current scenario, trying to figure out what the real chances are for each buyer to get their hands on the iconic Italian manufacturer. To start with, BMW just called itself out…

BMW declares itself out

BMW is the first company to declare itself out of the race to take over Ducati. The Bavarian manufacturer is already actively involved in motorcycling and motorcycle racing with its own brand and the BMW Motorrad division, and it did not take them too long to rule themselves out of the run. In a recent official statement published by Bloomberg and Italian news agency ANSA, BMW simply says that at the moment they are not interested in buying any company. Even though they did not mention it, it is pretty clear that they were denying the rumors of a possible Ducati takeover.

Volkswagen keen to enter the motorcycle market

Having a German company gaining control of one of the most famous company in the Bologna area would be nothing new: let’s just think of how Volkswagen - through Audi - took over the mighty Lamborghini in 1998. That marriage went very well actually: the Wolfsburg-based giant seemed to be on a world-wide shopping spree in that period, and they just added a new bright gem to their already impressive collection of jewels. Since then, Lamborghini saw its sales growing exponentially year by year, and the same can be said about its international reputation. Surely, the overall financial situation of Ducati at this moment has little or nothing to do with the stranded conditions of Lamborghini back then, but it is not difficult to detect some similarities between the two operations.

Another important factor that might play a part in the equation is that Mr.Ferdinand Piech, current chairman of the Volkswagen Group, is a self-professed motorcycle enthusiast, and his promptness in terms of decision making is quite well-documented. The first rumors about VW’s interest toward Ducati came out about two years ago, but they were never confirmed by either party. Later on, all these rumors just dissolved when Volkswagen signed a partner agreement with Suzuki, which eventually turned out to be a total failure and is still being discussed in courts. Back then it seemed likely that VW would have gone on to take control of the whole Suzuki group, including its motorcycle division, but we know now that that was just not bound to happen.

Volkswagen has always seemed keen to enter in the two-wheels arena, but for one reason or the other they never made it happen. With Ducati now up for grabs, it is pretty clear that this might be the big chance they have been waiting for. It might take ages before another opportunity so tempting will materialize, so they might just seize the moment.

Mercedes, AMG and Ducati: a love affair

As for Mercedes-Benz, things are a little different. The 3-pointed star house already boasts a partnership agreement with Ducati that was signed by its sport division AMG about a year ago. The collaboration between the two companies has led to the birth of spurious models such as the Ducati Diavel AMG that we saw at the latest Frankfurt Motor Show as well as the odd pair SLK55 AMG and Ducati Streetfigther 848, which were jointly introduced to the crowd at the recent Bologna Motor Show.

Mercedes - and especially AMG - and Ducati have quite a lot of common ground between them: both of them are regarded as ‘premium brands’ in their respective markets, both of them boasts an extremely strong image, and both of them made of performance and exclusivity two essential features of their offerings. This affinity and the existing partnership with Ducati might give Mercedes a strong advantage over its competitors in this run among automotive heavyweights.

Even though rumors about a possible wedding between the two companies have been circulating since the partnership went public, none of the two parties has ever provided any sort of confirmation on the subject. It goes without saying though that those rumors have gained a lot more strength in light of the recent announcement.

The current situation

In conclusion, Ducati being up for sale is a tempting opportunity for many companies. The Italian manufacturer - often referred to as “the Ferrari on two wheels” - has it all: history, tradition, reputation, strong brand and image, and its current financial situation is rock-solid. Its market shares in the segments it is directly involved with have been growing constantly, and the yearly turnover for 2011 was 480 million Euros, meaning a good 20% better than the previous year. Besides, the potential to expand its business even further in the future is clearly there. All hints seem to point at a German carmaker, but you never know in life.

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