AMG and Ducati announce partnership

AMG and Ducati announce partnership

Ever since Mercedes-Benz’s performance offshoot AMG announced its co-branding deal with Ducati in November of 2011, there has been talk that the alliance was simply a precursor to the eventual takeover of the Italian motorbike manufacturer by Mercedes’ parent company Daimler.

Rumors of a takeover further escalated when reports emerged that Audi was also considering a takeover of Ducati, though the brand with the four rings is yet to confirm any such possibility.

Daimler has now come out and denied that it is looking to takeover Ducati.

"We have no interest in a takeover of Ducati," a spokesman for Daimler told Reuters following a report in Italy's Corriere della Sera, which had suggested the possibility of a takeover by the German auto giant.

The Italian report claimed Investindustrial, the parent company of Ducati, was in talks with Audi along with several other bidders, one of which was Daimler.

Current bids for Ducati are rumored to be around $1.16 billion.

Meanwhile, AMG and Ducati continue to work on their co-branding efforts, which consists mostly of joint marketing and sponsoring activities. AMG support the Ducati MotoGP team as an Official Car Partner and during selected AMG events participants are able to take test drives with Ducati motorbikes. Similarly, Ducati customers are able to familiarize themselves with the latest AMG high-performance cars at the motorbike manufacturer’s own events.