The hits keep on coming, in terms of Volkswagen’s plans (or non-plans) to sell its Italian motorcycle manufacturer, Ducati Motor Holding.
According to the latest report from Reuters, the votes are lacking on supervisory board for Volkswagen, when it comes to selling Ducati and transmission-maker Renk.
The lack of votes at the Volkswagen board isn’t a new problem, of course, with the German company’s labor unions accounting for half of the board seats, and reportedly very unenthusiastic about selling either brand.
“The employee representatives on Volkswagen’s supervisory board will neither approve a sale of Ducati, nor one of Renk or MAN Diesel & Turbo,” a spokesman for VW group’s works council told Reuters this past weekend.
“Everyone who can read the VW half-year results should know: We don’t need money and our subsidiaries are not up for grabs by bargain hunters.”
Those are strong words from VW, but the math makes sense. The news of Ducati’s pending sale has always been dubious, with the German car-maker on the hook for north of $35 billion, but against the company’s near $250 billion in revenue.
Divesting Ducati or Renk bring minimal gains to coming up with that kind of cash, while also robbing the Volkswagen Group of two brands that contribute black ink to VW’s bottom line.
Source: Reuters
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