Audi will be taking Ducati under its Volkswagen wing. Although neither Audi nor the current owner of the motorcycle brand, an Italian Investment company Investindustrial, have made a formal statement, the deal is estimated to be for $1.1 billion.

Looking at the overall value of the company, taking into account the deal on the table and subtracting the company's debt, the actual value of Ducati is estimated to be seven times that of its profit from 2011 (discounting interest and taxes). The liabilities as of last month were reported by Investindustrial to be less than $262.7 million, (VW's Audi Nears Purchase of Ducati, Christoph Rauwald, The Wall Street Journal,

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304432704577349831924790146.html).

The famous motorcycle company was founded back in 1926, and has proven itself in standard having won 17 manufacturer's World Championship titles, and holding the current 2011 World Superbike Championship title. So it comes as no wonder why the Chairman of Volkswagen Ferdinand Piech, who celebrated his 75 birthday this past Tuesday, has eyed the company for years, having tried to purchase it previously in 2008, (VW's Audi Nears Purchase of Ducati, Christoph Rauwald, The Wall Street Journal).

Ducati will become the 11th brand under Volkswagen. It looks like it will fit right in with Audi's Superbike 119 Panigale S Tricolore, and upping the ante in the company's motorcycle competition between BMW models.

42,000 Ducati motorbikes were sold in 2011, accumulating to $630.2 million. However, Christoph Stuermer, a Frankfurt analyst with IHS Automotive believes that “Ducati is one of the finest machines you can buy,” but that the company is “mere accessory and insignificant for Volkswagen,” (VW's Audi Nears Purchase of Ducati, Christoph Rauwald, The Wall Street Journal).