Ducati Isn’t for Sale, Volkswagen Says
A VW spokesman said its “subsidiaries are not up for grabs by bargain hunters.”
Rumors have been swirling around since April that Volkswagen (technically Audi) was going to put Ducati up for sale to help pay the price of Dieselgate. According to a Reuters report, Ducati isn’t going anywhere for now.
A sale of Ducati and a couple other assets including transmission maker Renk were likely up for review. Volkswagen reportedly got the companies evaluated by bankers and reviewed tentative offers from the likes of U.S. firm Bain Capital, Indian bike maker Eicher Motors, and a few others.
However, labor leaders have saved Ducati from a buyout. Half of the seats on the supervisory board that makes decisions on asset sales are employees and they saw to it that Ducati and Renk aren’t going anywhere.
The reason for not wanting to sell Ducati is simple—why sell an asset that’s profitable? A big influx of cash from a sale would be nice, but Ducati has been doing well lately and it's showing no signs of slowing down.
"The employee representatives on Volkswagen's supervisory board will neither approve a sale of Ducati, nor one of Renk or MAN Diesel & Turbo," a spokesman for VW group's works council told Reuters on Saturday.
"Everyone who can read the VW half-year results should know: We don't need money and our subsidiaries are not up for grabs by bargain hunters.”
We're pretty excited about this news because Audi has been an excellent steward of the Ducati brand. Under their leadership, Ducati has started and grown the fantastic entry-level Scrambler line while making its world famous sport bikes and the beloved Monster better than ever.