Here’s Why The Ducati Deal Worth $1.8 Billion Did Not Go Through

Internal rifts on strategy by the German trade unions have made Volkswagen put the sale of Ducati motorcycles on hold, reports Reuters. The sale is estimated at $1.8 billion.

Ducati is wholly controlled by Audi, Volkswagen's luxury car brand, and to sell Ducati, approval needs to come from VW's supervisory board. Labour leaders at Volkswagen, who hold half the seats on the 20-member board have opposed the sale, regardless the value.

As per sources told Reuters, Volkswagen has asked five bidders to hold off making bids for the Italian motorcycle brand, which was up for sale in April. The move would have funded Volkswagen in regards to the Diesel Gate Scandal.

The Benetton Family from Italy, Polaris Industries from the US, and Investindustrial, Ducati's former owner made it to the last stage of the auction in July, along with other companies. The bids had valued Ducati at almost $1.8 billion, 13 times more than Ducati's core earnings.

Sources have revealed that the auction was supposed to wrap up towards the end of this year, while another source has said Volkswagen is to hold a meeting on September 29, and the sale of Ducati seems unlikely.

DriveSpark Thinks!

Volkswagen is in trouble, neck-deep. The emission scandals have left a massive dent on the German brand's profit, and selling Ducati could have helped Volkswagen recover a bit, but now that doesn't seem to be the case. Watch out for this space as we will bring you more updates as developments take place.