Rumour: Harley-Davidson planning to buy Ducati

Harley-Davidson is reported to be planning to take over Ducati from Volkswagen. Earlier this year, we had reported that Volkswagen might be planning to sell the Ducati brand to accumulate funds to invest in its electrification project. Indian motorcycle manufacturer - Bajaj is reported to be considering the takeover of Ducati as well.

Many other manufacturers were also considering the purchase of the Italian performance bike manufacturer. According to media reports, the deal could be worth up to 1.5 billion Euros (equivalent to US$ 1.6 billion). Hero MotoCorp and TVS Motor Company initially showed interest in the deal, but were reportedly put off by the hefty price tag. Reports also suggest that BMW, Honda and Suzuki would also be walking away from the deal.

Ducati was acquired by Volkswagen's luxury car brand - Audi in 2012 for 860 million Euros. Now reports suggest that the sale of the Ducati brand will not be finalized before annual EICMA motor show in mid-November as Volkswagen wants to get the best deal and the processing would take time.

We had also reported that Royal Enfield might buy Ducati from Volkswagen. However, there have been no updates on the same.

Source : Reuters