Italian Investment Firm Confirms It Offered To Buy Ducati. VW Says 'No Decision' Yet On Sale

At the end of last week, a report stated that Volkswagen had received a bid from a newly established investment company, Patritalia S.p.A, to purchase Ducati from the German automotive giant. This supposed bid comes after rumors have swirled that VW was looking to offload assets due its current financial issues. Already, these dire circumstances have seen VW sell Bugatti, sell Everrlence—its marine engines division—and look to not only rightsize its lineup, culling over 50% of its cars, and up to 75% of those lineups' models, but to also possibly lay off a sixth of its total workforce. 

In recent reports, two additional marques under the Volkswagen banner have stood out as the most likely to be sold: Lamborghini and Ducati. And when reached for comment on the possibility of selling the two companies, a Volkswagen representative told RideApart that the company wouldn't take anything off the table, as all routes to success were being considered.

So, the possibility of an outside company putting in an offer for Ducati isn't all that surprising. 

Back to the matter in hand: The new report about a potential bid for Ducati cited an unnamed source within the Bologna-based firm. This source reportedly neither provided their position in the company, nor their name, nor so much as a single shred of evidence that a sale was being considered, only their word that they had seen a supposed offer. They also did not show the offer itself. In fact, this report was basically a he-said, she-said, as nothing it contained could be corroborated.

Moreover, the company making the offer, Patritalia S.p.A, was only founded last year. What's the company's stated goal? The "sole intent of regaining the ownership of the individual companies part of Our National and Cultural identity," i.e., purchasing Italian companies that are no longer owned by Italians. 

Hence, targeting the current German ownership of Ducati. 

What the original report hadn't done, however, was reach out to Patritalia S.p.A, Ducati, or Volkswagen, which RideApart did. The president of Patritalia, Manuel Ros, responded to our inquiry and stated that, yes, his company had put in a bid for Ducati. He also told us that Volkswagen did receive the offer. However, it remains unclear whether or not the company is considering an offer, what the offer might be, or whether or not Ducati is currently even for sale instead of simply rumored to be for sale, as VW's response to our questions is vague. 

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Speaking to RideApart, Ros stated that while the offer for Ducati was meant to still be confidential, "I can confirm that the rumours are well founded. Patritalia S.p.A has formally expressed its interest and is fully prepared to acquire 100% of Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A."

Ros went on to state that Patritalia S.p.A was founded upon the premise of purchasing "Italian companies from foreigner ownerships," adding, "The sole mission I set behind the creation of Patritalia is to 'bring back home' our Italian companies and iconic Italian brands that are currently under foreign ownership and bring them back under Italian control. Our objective is to promote a form of industrial repossession, allowing these historic brands to once again be guided by Italian vision, culture, creativity, with the goal of restoring the soul of the Italian entrepreneurial spirit."

And that includes Ducati, which Ros said, "In our view, since foreign owners took over, many of these brands have gradually lost part of the passion, originality, and distinctive Italian identity that made them famous worldwide. Under foreign ownership, several have increasingly been managed as industrial factories rather than as symbols of Italian excellence, deeply rooted in our culture. Setting economic priorities rather than preserving the Italian soul."

Ros told RideApart that he doesn't know how Patritalia S.p.A's offer became public knowledge, stating again that this interchange was supposedly meant to be confidential. However, after this demurral, he added that, "We formally submitted our expression of interest together with a substantial offer, not only to acquire 100% of the company, but also to revitalise Ducati, invest in its future, and create new opportunities for the next generation of Italian talent."

The executive expounded, "We have a great expansion plan for Ducati. We would like to transform the current brand into a legacy, strengthening investment and expanding into other categories such as Moto2, Moto3, and Supermotard, while opening access to the brand to a much wider audience with news segments."

However, much of the veracity of Ros and Patritalia S.p.A's offer cannot be verified.

RideApart reached out to both Volkswagen AG, Ducati's parent company, as well as to Ducati itself, asking about Patritalia S.p.A's offer, whether Volkswagen was taking offers, and whether Ducati was for sale, as well as informing them of RideApart's conversation with Patritalia S.p.A's Ros. A Volkswagen spokesperson told RideApart, "Ducati is a strong and successful company. Portfolio reviews are part of responsible Group management. No decision has currently been taken regarding a sale of Ducati."  The response given, however, clearly didn't answer any of our questions. 

RideApart asked Ros a number of follow-up questions regarding the supposed offer, including when the offer was made, whether or not Volkswagen had accepted receipt of the offer, whether Volkswagen AG initiated the request for offers for Ducati, who Patritalia S.p.A was talking to at Volkswagen about the offer, and whether the offer was strictly for Ducati? He answered some of our questions, stating that Volkswagen did indeed receive the offer, and that "When discussions take place at this level, they are conducted exclusively with the highest levels of management. These are not conversations with ordinary executives, but with the top decision-makers throughout the organisation." 

Ros also stated that while Patritalia S.p.A has an interest in Lamborghini, the current offer is only for Ducati. "I can simply confirm that Patritalia has formally expressed its interest in acquiring Italian assets currently owned by Volkswagen and Audi, including Ducati," adding, "Beyond this, although we would also like to acquire Lamborghini and have included it in our long-term strategic plans, for the moment this remains only an aspiration."

At present, Patritalia S.p.A remains the only on-the-record source of the bid for Ducati, with no one else responding yet to RideApart's inquiries. Likewise, an equally unsourced report states that Ducati's own trade union is now involved, though that remains unconfirmed. We will update this report if we learn additional information from other parties.

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