VW’s Truck IPO Might Herald a Bigger Shakeup, Including a Ducati Sale

(Bloomberg) -- Volkswagen AG’s initial public offering of its truck unit could lead to more asset sales at the German carmaker -- including the potential revival of its previously abandoned sale of iconic motorbike brand Ducati.

The Italian bike manufacturer was one of the first earmarked for potential sale in the wake of VW’s diesel emissions scandal that erupted in 2015. VW’s powerful labor unions and a reclusive billionaire-owner family scuppered that attempt.

VW’s top priority in coming weeks will be to generate an adequate multiple in the Traton SE truck-unit listing, similar to that of Swedish rival Volvo AB and higher than the squeezed car-sector valuations, according to a person familiar with the matter. This could be followed by firming up talks over strategic options for the Renk AG and MAN Energy Solutions units, which VW said last month include a partnership or potential sale.

Ducati could then be next in line as VW looks to finally realize a three-year old plan to slash complexity, said the person, who asked not to be named ahead of any decision. Still, resuming the Ducati sales process could be easier said than done. VW’s bureaucratic apparatus and convoluted decision-making between key stakeholders remains notoriously difficult to predict.

To contact the reporter on this story: Christoph Rauwald in Frankfurt at crauwald@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net, Andrew Noël, John Bowker

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