Audi Purchases Ducati for Undisclosed Sum

Rumors have been spreading about a possibly buyer for motorcycle maker Ducati for several months. There had been dueling rumors that either Daimler or Audi would buy the company. It appears that there is a winner.

Audi tweeted at about 12:40pm EST the following message from its @Audi account: "What could this mean?" It also included a link to the picture in the gallery. 

The image shows an Audi R8 and Ducati Diavel outside what appears to be the Audi headquarters in Ingolstadt, Germany. 

About 10 minutes later, Audi released a press release giving more details on the purchase from Investindustrial Group, Ducati's current owner, but did not disclose the price. The boards of Audi AG and Volkswagen AG agreed to the deal today in Hamburg. 

“Ducati is known worldwide as a premium brand among motorcycle manufacturers and has a long tradition of building sporty motorcycles. It has great expertise in high-performance engines and lightweight construction, and is one of the world’s most profitable motorcycle manufacturers. That makes Ducati an excellent fit for Audi,” said Chairman of Audi AG Rupert Stadler. 

This is the first official statement of any kind that it is buying Ducati, despite all of the rumors. Volkswagen already controls Italdesign and Lamborghini in Italy, and it is calling the purchase of Ducati,  "a third pillar for AUDI AG in Northern Italy."

Ducati has its headquarters and a factory in Bologna, Italy, and a second factory in Thailand. It employs 1,100 people, and it sold 42,000 motorcycles last year and made €480 million in revenue.