THE Indian firm that owns Royal Enfield is poised to make a binding bid to acquire Ducati, the Economic Times has reported.
Eicher Motors is finalising terms with advisers ahead of making a $1.8 billion-$2 billion bid by the deadline of the end of September, according to the report.
News that Ducati owner Volkswagen was considering selling Ducati emerged in April.
Eicher Motors is understood to be the only Asian company remaining in the auction.
Other companies to have reportedly shown interest in bidding include Harley-Davidson and India’s Bajaj Auto.
The process suffered a setback earlier this week and was put on hold following resistance from German trade unions, according to sources quoted by Reuters.
The final decision to sell Ducati needs to be approved by VW’s supervisory board in a meeting due to take place on September 29.
An unnamed source ‘directly involved’ told the Economic Times: “The dilligence is on hold for a fortnight. It's more an issue in Germany ahead of election season. It's a pause and hopefully not a dead end. With sprawling global operations, hopefully dilligence can still continue in other centres and markets. Preparations at Eicher is still ongoing. They have qualified in the initial rounds and will compete aggressively.”
