Harley-Davidson prepares to buy Ducati

It is reported that the iconic American motorcycle manufacturer is preparing a takeover bid for Volkswagen owned Ducati.

Over the last couple of months, we’ve announced the intentions of multiple suitors looking to acquire the Italian brand – and sources suggest that companies are currently preparing bids for a takeover.

It is reported that the Wisconsin-based bike builder has hired Goldman Sachs to prepare a takeover bid for Ducati that could be worth up to 1.5 billion euros ($1.67 billion). If it goes ahead, it would bring together two massive names in the motorcycle industry—one American, that’s known for big, loud highway cruisers, and the other Italian, that’s known for smaller, race-oriented sportbikes. An exciting (if not slightly unnatural) proposition if ever we heard one.

It has also been reported that Indian motorcycle maker Bajaj Auto and several buyout funds are also assessing bids at this time – but a source close to VW revealed that the German company and Evercore, the firm it has contracted to handle the sale may not finalise the sale until mid-November – so nothing is happening just yet.

Admittedly, there’s still a lot we don’t know at this stage – but it seems pretty likely that the Ducati brand is going to be owned by someone else by Christmas.