Photo: Five – Two = Podium

Blurred to protect against spoilers, we’ll just leave things simply by saying that World Superbike’s Race 2 at Donington Park is well worth a watching if you haven’t already seen it. Decided right down to the last few turns, race pundits surely will be discussing the race and its outcome over the next week. Unsurprisingly, geography is playing a major a role in how things are being viewed. Though in a race where a number of questionable passes occurred, it is hard to single out this one event from the plethora of others that occurred during the race, but of course this one had the biggest effect on the race outcome. Click past the jump for the he said, she said, and of course for some slightly sharper photos.

Norton V4 Gets Shakedown Test Ahead of Isle of Man TT

More news from Norton, as the British firm has begun track-testing its V4 road race bike, in preparation of the 2012 Isle of Man TT. Focusing on the bike’s handling, Norton has been working hand-in-hand with Öhlins and Dunlop developing the bike’s chassis. The trio has devised the highly sophisticated “165 mph no hands” test, which supposedly checks the stability of the bike, though we imagine Health & Safety would frown upon it. With the bike’s Aprilia RSV4 motor putting out 195hp at the crank, and with the total race package weighing 419 lbs (195 kg) when it is sopping wet, the Spondon-framed Norton may not be exactly what fans of the famous marques were hoping for after seeing the very appealing Norton NRV 588, though it does seem to be a potent package.

2012 Brammo Empulse R – Was It Worth the Wait?

Launching in downtown Los Angeles, the 2012 Brammo Empulse R & 2013 Brammo Empulse broke their cover and officially debuted. Right off the bat from the designations, you can see that Brammo intends for the Empulse R to be a 2012 model, with the base model Emuplse coming out next year (more on that further down). As we expected, the Brammo Empulse R got quite the price bump after its 22-month marination, and will be $18,995 MSRP. Meanwhile when the Brammo Empulse becomes available next year, it will have a slightly more palatable $16,995 price tag.

Up-Close with the Erik Buell Racing 1190RS ‘merica Edition

While the EBR 1190RS race bikes were on the track, their $40,000+ street-legal counterparts were on display outside of the Erik Buell Racing garage. Rocking an American flag livery, I naturally took pictures of this show bike. Eye catching to say the least, nothing says “Made in ‘merica” better than a red, white, and blue color scheme, especially when it is laid over carbon fiber. And while I want to love this bike because of its nuances and outside-of-the-box technical design, I don’t.

Sunday Summary at Estoril: Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

If there’s one lesson we can take from Sunday’s race at Estoril, it’s this: “I’ve always said we know Casey’s the guy that’s the fastest guy in the world. Maybe over the seasons he hasn’t put the championships together, but by far he’s the best guy in the world.” Cal Crutchlow is not known for mincing his words, and his description of Casey Stoner pulls no punches. But given the fact that Stoner only managed to win the Portuguese round of MotoGP by a second and a bit, is that not a little exaggerated?

Up-Close with the 2012 Brammo Empulse RR

Brammo is back for electric motorcycle racing in the North American TTXGP series, as the Ashland-based company is set to defend it’s #1 plate this year with Steve Atlas on board ( Shelina Moreda is slated to join the team later in the season). Gaining a title sponsorship from Icon, Brammo arrived at Sears Point with some edgy graphics on the 2012 Brammo Empulse RR. Dropping roughly 35 lbs in weight, and gaining roughly 50hp over the bike they ran at last year’s season opener, Brammo is making most of those gains in its revised motor and power inverter for the newest Empulse RR.

Mea Culpa: The Media’s Hard-on for a Good Penis Story

As you can imagine, the bulk of the commentary, both from readers and from professional journalists, has centered around the absurdity of the claim, with even jokes being offered about how an aged BMW rider should be thanking the German motorcycle brand for saving him money on Viagra, etc. The situation reminds me of the McDonald’s hot coffee lawsuit. You know the story, right?. A woman buys a cup of coffee at McDonald’s, spills it on herself while in the car, and sues the bastards for her incompetence. True to litigious American form, the unthinkable happened, and a jury awarded this gold-digging woman millions of dollars. It is repudiating, and it stands for everything that is wrong with the legal system, or so we would be lead to believe — especially by the media.

An Addendum to Valentino Rossi’s Options for the Future

Never say never, but few are expecting Valentino Rossi to hang up his spurs at the end of the 2012 MotoGP Championship. Going out on a career low-point is certainly not the Italian’s style, especially as it casts a particularly dark shadow on a career that has enjoyed the bright-light superlative of “Greatest of All Time” from some of motorcycling’s most knowledgeable sources. Hoping to cast that phrase with an underlined typeface, and not with an interrogatory question mark, there is sufficient evidence to believe that Rossi will want to end his career in a way that will leave no doubt about the nine-time World Champion’s abilities. The question of course is how those final seasons will play out, and who they will be with.

Motorcycle from Japanese Tsunami Washes Up in Canada

Just a little over a year later, debris from the Sendai earthquake and its subsequent tsunami is starting to make its way across the Pacific Ocean, with the first bit major piece of fallout to hit Canadian soil just now being reported. Though the effects to the motorcycle industry were only a small portion of the overall devastation, for our purposes it seems fitting that the first sizable item to wash ashore is a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Landing in the Haida Gwaii islands of British Columbia, the Harley-Davidson Softail was discovered by Peter Mark, who was riding his ATV along the coast of the isolated beach.

Man Sues BMW for Causing Erection – No, Seriously

After a four-hour ride on his motorcycle, one BMW owner realized that he had a problem. Namely, a problem with his erect penis, which after some waiting would not subside. Now while most of us would cheekily reply that such a state is the sign of a good motorcycle ride, this San Francisco Bay Area native is not laughing, and has filed suit in the Superior Court of San Francisco County (CGC-12-520316) against BMW Motorrad North American and Corbin-Pacific. Saying that the motorcycle and its dealer-installed custom motorcycle seat have caused priapism, the man is suing for lost wages, personal injury, medical expenses, product liability, and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

Ducati Valued at €1 Billion – Acquisition Talks Continue

02/13/2012 @ 11:37 am, by Jensen Beeler8 COMMENTS

The big non-racing news today is that Ducati is reportedly up for sale, with a price tag of €1 billion. To be honest, I’m fairly amused by how many emails I found in my inbox on this topic, and by how far this news item is spreading in the motorcycle news sector today. The buzz of course is that Ducati may be purchased by any number of large manufacturing firms, with smart money on a European automaker.

Either asleep at the switch for the past year, or just grossly inept at understanding financial news (guys, there is a big difference between one billion euros and one billion pounds), collectively the motorcycle news industry is reporting on an story that we first published nine months ago like it is a shot out of the dark.

For those that missed our ongoing coverage of the topic, Investindustrial actively spent the better part of 2011 looking to divest its majority position in Ducati Motor Holdings, and was in serious talks with Mercedes-Benz over the acquisition. Our Bothan Spies told us back in April that Investindustrial was very eager to sell Ducati to Mercedes-Benz, while the zie Germans were being very, well German about the whole thing.

With nothing coming to fruition on the Mercedes deal, Ducati again made waves in August when it was reported that the company was interested in making a private stock offering in 2012. Today’s news of course is the logical extension of that announcement, as it is both 2012 and Investindustrial is rumored to be in talks with several possible private buyers for Ducati. While none of this news should surprise anyone, what is of note is the price tag being attached to Ducati is €1 billion.

If this all sounds like a bit of off-season speculation to you, then consider the following statement that comes straight from Andrea Bonomi, the Chairman of the Board at Investindustrial. “Ducati is now a perfect company but the further growth it requires needs the support of a world-class industrial partner,” Bonomi told the Financial Times. “This year, we will work towards that partner.”

If standard manufacturing revenue multiples are holding true to this situation, then this figure puts Ducati’s yearly revenues at over €900 million per year, a pretty tidy sum for an Italian motorcycle manufacturer that only puts out 40,000 units a year. There is no doubt that Ducati had a hallmark year in 2011, and surely Investindustrial is keen on cashing out while on top. Expecting to make nearly three times its investment back on the sale, Ducati is likely to be sold to an automobile manufacturer.

Despite being one of the strongest brands in the business, Ducati’s future is dependent on its ability to continue fueling growth at the boutique company. This will not only require a considerable amount of capital, though Ducati currently has an extremely low debt ratio (1.7x according to Financial Times), it will also need a partner/buyer that knows how to scale industrial tooling and an international manufacturing business.

For an automaker, Ducati is a lucrative purchase, as the EU continues to crack down on carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles on a company-wide basis. With motorcycles being the loophole on that mandate, a company like Mercedes-Benz could have offset the carbon emissions from its larger and sportier cars with the figures from Ducati’s motorcycles. While Mercedes-Benz no longer has its hat in Ducati’s ring, Financial Times is reporting that BMW, Volkswagen, and Mahindra have been rumored to be talking to Investindustrial about a possible acquisition.

Expect to see this story develop further over the course of 2012, and also expect to see what is respectfully called “motorcycle journalism” stumble along through the bigger words of financial and business reporting.

Source: The Financial Times (Google Cache)

Top 5 Related Posts:

Tagged under: acquire, acquisition, Andrea Bonomi, business, divest, divesture, Ducati, Ducati Motor Holdings, Ducati Motor Holdings SpA, Investindustrial, Mercedes-Benz, sale

Comment:

Marc F says:
February 13, 2012 at 1:23 PM
Great reporting.
I think your estimated multiple is off for a high growth MFG with a very strong brand. I’d expect a 2X to 3X revenue multiple on the valuation which would put revenues at ~€400 million per year. Triangulating bottom up, for 40,000 units sold at wholesale that seems more appropriate.
Jensen Beeler says:
February 13, 2012 at 1:27 PM
Now you’re talking like those TPG guys Marc.
Goofasaurus Rex says:
February 13, 2012 at 8:07 PM
There goes the potential sales figures for 2012!
450 says:
February 14, 2012 at 8:16 AM
An genius brought a apartment in Moscow for the same price … :))))
Grant Madden says:
February 14, 2012 at 1:12 PM
Think they,d take a cheque?Cause it will fill out my portfolio nicely.Next to Park lane and Mayfair.
GeddyT says:
February 14, 2012 at 9:01 PM
Marc, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ducati made as much off of jackets and shirts and “lifestyle” products at near 100% profit as they do selling bikes. They’re the Harley Davidson of sport bike companies. Double your revenue estimate wouldn’t surprise me in the least.
As to a buyer developing the manufacturing process a bit more, I really hope this happens. If Ducati design/performance could be combined with detail engineering, better fit and finish, and an international parts network, it would really be a killer package.
Jensen Beeler says:
February 15, 2012 at 2:59 PM
To add fuel to the debate, H-D makes only about 10% of its revenue off t-shirts. Remember it takes a lot of $10 tank-tops to equal one $20,000 motorcycle.
GeddyT says:
February 16, 2012 at 6:37 PM
Is that just t-shirts, or does that include dog bowl, do-rags, brand licensing, and co-branding exercises (H-D F-150, for example)?
Even if so, 10% is a hell of a big chunk in lifestyle crap.

Follow Asphalt & Rubber on Facebook

Follow Asphalt & Rubber