Ducati‘s former owner Investindustrial is ready for its next big acquisition, reportedly submitting a bid to acquire a stake in Aston Martin. Investindustrial is reportedly competing against Indian car and motorcycle maker Mahindra & Mahindra for the stake in the British car company probably best known for its association with the fictional spy James Bond.

According to Bloomberg, Investindustrial has submitted an offer of nearly 250 million British pounds (US$400.7 million) for a 40% equity stake and 50% control of voting rights for Aston Martin. Investindustrial sold its stake in Ducati to Audi earlier this year for  747 million euros (about US$919.1 million, at the time), so it should have the cash to cover its bid for Aston Martin. However, Mahindra & Mahindra, which entered the Indian two-wheeler market in 2008 by acquiring Kinetic Motor Company Limited, reportedly offered more money and is favored to win.

The Investindustrial bid however does have one advantage. It comes with plans to use technology from AMG, the performance arm of Mercedes-Benz. Aston Martin used to be owned by Ford and continues to use Ford engines, but it lost access to a lot of Ford’s resources following the previous sale. The inclusion of AMG technology would help fill that void but it still may not be enough to top Mahindra’s higher bid. Continue Reading »

Reuters is reporting Audi has reached a deal with Investindustrial to acquire Ducati for a price of 860 million euros (US$1.13 billion).

Citing two unnamed sources familiar with the deal, Reuters reports the purchase price includes Ducati‘s debts, estimated by one of those sources at below 200 million euros (US$262.6 million). As previously reported, the deal will be officially announced April 18, ahead of the annual shareholders meeting for Audi’s parent company, the Volkswagen Group. Continue Reading »

Audi‘s window for exclusive negotiation rights with Ducati has closed, but the German automaker is still expected to announce the acquisition of the Italian motorcycle brand this week.

Volkswagen-owned Audi had exclusive rights to discuss acquiring Ducati until April 15, and though other suitors may now begin negotiations, Audi remains the front-runner. Last week, Reuters reported a deal could be announced as soon as April 18, the day before the Volkswagen Group’s annual shareholder meeting.

Andrea Bonomi, head of Ducati’s primary owners Investindustrial, told reporters the Volkswagen Group “has demonstrated in the past that it has the money, the technology and the long-term vision.” Continue Reading »