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Bloomberg
Volkswagen AG halted the possible sale of its Ducati motorcycle unit amid persistent opposition from its powerful labor groups, according to an Italian union leader.
“Ducati’s CEO told workers that the VW supervisory board decided to halt the sale process,†Bruno Papignani, regional head of FIOM CIGL union, said. “IG Metall sustained and helped Ducati workers in their request to remain inside the VW group which should keep investing in our company.â€
VW considered selling Ducati as part of an asset review that started last year to examine options for operations that aren’t a fit for its car and truck focus. VW’s Audi luxury division, which owns Ducati, hired Evercore Partners Inc. to advise on strategic options A Ducati official declined to comment, while VW spokesman Eric Felber said the company doesn’t comment on market rumours.
A sale of Ducati could have beefed VW’s cash by as much as $1.8 billion. The company reported a surprise charge of about 2.5 billion euros in the third quarter as plans to buy back or retrofit tainted US diesel cars proves more complex, bringing total damages from the two-year-old scandal to over 25 billion euros.