According to numerous sources, Germany-based automaker Audi is going to buy Italian superbike maker Ducati for $1.2 billion. Ducati’s debt liabilities are apparently below $200 million, Reuters reported, citing anonymous sources familiar with the deal.
Audi has reportedly been in talks with Ducati owner Investindustrial for some time about the purchase, and there have been other interested parties, including the Indian company Hero MotoCorp Ltd., Businessweek reported.
“The Ducati acquisition is driven by VW’s passion for nameplates rather than industrial or financial logic,” Arndt Ellinghorst, an analyst at Credit Suisse told Reuters.
Investindustrial is expected to announce the sale of Ducati at a shareholders’ meeting on Wednesday, according to Reuters.