Recent market news is Volkswagen (VW) is putting up motorcycle brand Ducati, for sale. For those of you only interested in how fast a bike goes and how much to pay monthly, stop reading now and go open TikTok to watch some girl jiggling her chest.
For those of you interested in market machinations, read on. This is an editorial piece based on news reports, industry gossip and a little bit of insider information.
So, first question, is Ducati for sale? From experience, news like this emerging suddenly is not unknown, a way of testing the waters. With a rough market valuation of US$1.5 billion (RM6.09 billion), Ducati is considerably worth more than the sum of its parts.
The brand with its hallowed racing history, cutting edge styling, pinnacle of performance products and fanatical brand loyalty is something many automotive manufacturers envy. Thus, hints are leaked to the media, with indications that expressions of interest are welcomed.
Which begs the next question, who would buy Ducati? In modern times, Ducati was owned by the Castiglioni family, who also owned MV Agusta. Most Malaysians will remember the controversy surrounding the purchase and subsequent sale of MV Agusta by Proton, first to Harley-Davidson, then Mercedes-AMG, before returning to the fold and moving on to Black Ocean and then KTM, before ending up in the hands of the Sardarov family.
Similarly with Ducati, financial woes in the 90s saw investment firm First Texas Pacific having a majority share in Ducati, then Invest Industrial, before the sale to Audi in 2012 under its subsidiary brand Lamborghini. With arguably the best performance motorcycle brand in the world ostensibly for sale, does it make sense to acquire it?
Prime candidates to purchase Ducati would be a conglomerate from India, if the TVS acquisition of Norton Motorcycle is any indication. There could possibly be interest from China, they certainly have enough money, but the likelyhood of them allowing Ducati to continue as its own brand is low as China motorcycle makers are currently forging their own identity, with reference to QJMotor, CFMoto and ZXMoto.
Where does this leave Ducati? Looking at reasons why VW might want to put the gem in its portfolio up for sale, the company, while not cash strapped, is looking to cover shortfalls in liquidity caused by Dieselgate and its push toward electric vehicles. And is typical for halo brands, they are acquired by the parent company when the going is good, and the first to be let go when times are, while not bad per se, looking a little shaky.
One thing is for sure, a sale on the scale of Ducati is not going to happen overnight. Acquisitions like this take years to finalise, along with raising the necessary financing. There are reports certain investment banks are knocking on doors and asking if anyone is interested, but this is unconfirmed.
What does this mean for you as a Ducati rider/owner? Not much really, in the general scheme of things. A name like Ducati is worth more intact than broken up, plus it is a nice little earner for VW at the moment. You can expect the bikes to continue to be sold, new bikes entering the model pipeline, racing efforts to continue.
The danger would be in the new owners wanting a return on investment as quickly as possible. This could mean Ducati cutting out certain non-profitable models in order to chase a new market niche, reducing racing efforts, or down grading quality and/or performance to chase the bottom line.
