Investindustrial Could Earn 3x On Ducati

The Italian private-equity owner of Ducati is looking to sell the motorbike brand for up to £1 billion ($1.6 billion), three times its initial investment, sister news service Reuters reported, citing the Financial Times. Investindustrial, which is backed by the Bonomi family, had sounded out a Hong Kong public listing for Ducati in 2011 but a sale to a rival or large car group was more likely now, the FT said.

“Ducati is now a perfect company but the further growth it requires needs the support of a world-class industrial partner,” Andrea Bonomi, Investindustrial’s chairman, told the paper. “This year, we will work towards that partner.”

In November, Ducati chief executive Gabriele Del Torchio said the motorbike maker had raised its share of the markets where it operates around the world to 10.7 percent, up from 8.5 percent in 2010.

(Drazen Jorgic is a trainee journalist for Reuters in London.)

By Drazen Jorgic