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Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A is a privately owned Italian motorcycle manufacturer located in Bologna, Italy.
Ducati has achieved prominence in the motorcycle industry and in motorcycle racing.

In 1926 three brothers, Adriano, Marcello and Bruno Ducati, founded Societa Scientifica Radio Brevetti Ducati in Bologna to produce tubes, condensers and other radio components, becoming successful enough by 1935 to construct a new factory in the Borgo Panigale area of the city. During the war, although the Ducati factory was a repeated target for Allied bombing, production was maintained.

Meanwhile, at the small Turinese firm SIATA (Societa Italiana per Applicazioni Tecniche Auto-Aviatorie), Aldo Farinelli began developing a small pushrod engine for mounting on bicycles. Barely a month after the official liberation of Italy in 1944, SIATA announced its intention to sell this engine, called the "Cucciolo" (Italian for "puppy," in reference to the distinctive exhaust sound) to the public. The first Cucciolos were available alone, to be mounted on standard bicycles, by the buyer; however, businessmen soon bought the little engines in quantity, and offered complete motorized-bicycle units for sale.

In 1950 (after more than 200,000 Cucciolos had been sold), in collaboration with SIATA, the Ducati firm finally offered its own Cucciolo-based motorcycle. This first Ducati motorcycle was a 60 cc bike weighing 98 pounds with a top speed of 40 mph (64 km/h) had a 15 mm carburetor giving just under 200 mpg (85 km/L). Ducati soon dropped the "Cucciolo" name in favor of "55M" and "65TL".

When the market moved toward larger motorcycles, Ducati management decided to respond, making an impression at an early-1952 Milan show, introducing their 65TS cycle and Cruiser (a four-stroke motor scooter). Despite being described as the most interesting new machine at the 1952 show, the Cruiser was not a great success, and only a few thousand were made over a two-year period before the model ceased production.

In 1953, management split the company into two separate entities, Ducati Meccanica SpA and Ducati Elettronica, in acknowledgment of its diverging motorcycle and electronics product lines. (Ducati Elettronica became Ducati Energia SpA in the eighties.) Dr. Giuseppe Montano took over as head of Ducati Meccanica SpA and the Borgo Panigale factory was modernized with government assistance. By 1954, Ducati Meccanica SpA had increased production to 120 bikes a day.

The company's offerings have improved and diversified since then.


Ducati Mach 1In the 1960s, Ducati earned its place in motorcycling history by producing the then fastest 250 cc road bike available, the Mach 1.[4][5][6] In the 1970s Ducati began producing large-displacement L-twin (i.e. a 90° V-twin) motorcycles and in 1973 released an L-twin with the trademarked desmodromic valve design. In 1985, Cagiva bought Ducati and planned to rebadge Ducati motorcycles with the lesser-known Cagiva name (at least outside of Italy). By the time the purchase was completed, Cagiva kept the "Ducati" name on its motorcycles. In 1996, Texas Pacific Group bought a 51% stake in the company for US$325 million then in 1998, bought most of the remaining 49% to become the sole owner of Ducati. In 1999, TPG issued an IPO of Ducati stock and renamed the company Ducati Motor Holding SpA. TPG sold over 65% of its shares in Ducati, leaving TPG the majority shareholder. In December 2005 Ducati returned to Italian ownership with the sale of Texas Pacific's stake (minus one share) to Investindustrial Holdings, the investment fund of Carlo and Andrea Bonomi.

From the 1960s to the 1990s, the Spanish MotoTrans company licensed Ducati engines and produced motorcycles that, although they incorporated subtle differences, were clearly Ducati-derived. MotoTrans's most notable machine was the 250 cc 24 Horas (Spanish for 24 hours). A 285 cc version of this bike won the Barcelona twenty-four-hour race at the Montjuic circuit for three consecutive years, 1956 to 1958.

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Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. è un'azienda motociclistica italiana, con sede a Bologna-Borgo Panigale. I motocicli Ducati sono conosciuti in tutto il mondo per le loro prestazioni e per il design di chiara impronta italiana.

L'azienda nacque nel 1926 per volontà dell'ing. Antonio Cavalieri Ducati (Comacchio1855 - 27 giugno 1927) con il nome di Società Scientifica Radio Brevetti Ducati, specializzata nella ricerca e produzione di tecnologie di comunicazioni radio. Ben presto, grazie ai figli di Antonio Ducati (morto solo un anno dopo la fondazione), cominciò a spaziare in svariati campi industriali.

La fabbrica DucatiIl reparto motociclistico nasce nel 1946 come branca dell'azienda, allora gestita dall'IRI, con la produzione del Cucciolo, un motore monocilindrico da applicare ad una normale bicicletta, progettato dalla SIATA di Torino e venduto in tutto il mondo in oltre 250.000 unità.

Nel 1985 la società venne ceduta ad un'altra industria del ramo motociclistico, la Cagiva di Varese, che ne mantenne la proprietà fino al 1996, anno in cui il Texas Pacific Group ne acquistò il 51% delle azioni. Il rimanente 49% fu rilevato nel 1998; l'anno successivo l'azienda mutò denominazione in Ducati Motor Holding SpA e il fondo texano collocò sul mercato oltre il 65% delle azioni possedute.

Nel 2006 il marchio Ducati è ritornato in mani italiane con l'acquisto da parte di Investindustrial Holdings, la finanziaria di Andrea Bonomi, di una quota consistente del capitale sociale.

In seguito, per ragioni riorganizzative della catena di controllo dell'azienda, la finanziaria stessa e i suoi soci istituzionali hanno provveduto ad un'OPA sulla totalità delle azioni ordinarie di Ducati non detenute. Al termine delle varie operazioni finanziarie, comprendenti operazioni di fusione per incorporazione, l'azienda ha cambiato i suoi dati fiscali senza peraltro cambiare la denominazione con cui è conosciuta e il titolo Ducati è stato ritirato dalla quotazione in Borsa alla fine del 2008.

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Ducati Motor Holding est un constructeur italien de moto basé à Bologne et très réputé pour ses bicylindres en V à 90° ou en L et sa distribution desmodromique. Sa notoriété s'est notamment construite après de multiples victoires en compétition moto.

Originaire de la Sardaigne, la famille Ducati, faisant appel à des investisseurs, fonde à Bologne la "Società Scientifica Radio Brevetti Ducati", dont l'objectif était la production de composants pour l'amélioration de la transmission par radio. Domaine qui, en 1926, représentait l'avenir.

À partir de cette date, la société Ducati n'aura de cesse d'augmenter et de diversifier ses activités : elle produira des machines à calculer, des appareils de photo, et des radios.

Mais la Seconde Guerre mondiale laissera ses stigmates : en 1943, l'usine de Borgo Panigale, une banlieue industrielle de Bologne, est envahie par l'armée allemande et, en 1944, elle sera totalement détruite par les bombes.


L'usine DucatiIl fallut beaucoup de courage aux frères Ducati pour relancer leur activité industrielle. Pour cela, ils commencèrent à produire, à partir de 1946, un moteur auxiliaire, le "Cucciolo", destiné à s'adapter sur le cadre de bicyclettes, dont ils avaient racheté la licence à SIATA. Mais, bien que l'engin fut bien adapté aux besoins de l'époque, la situation financière de la famille Ducati était devenue catastrophique, si bien qu'ils durent, pour continuer leur activité, faire appel à une aide de l'État.

L'aide est accordée, mais sous contrôle d'un syndic. Malgré tout, et alors que le "Cucciolo" connaissait un certain succès, la société est déclarée en faillite en 1949. Les frères Ducati quittent alors définitivement l'entreprise.

Jusqu'en 1983, date du rachat par les frères Castiglioni, propriétaires de Cagiva, la firme sise à Borgo Panigale restera sous contrôle de l'État.

En 1996, le groupe Cagiva est en proie à de graves soucis financiers. Il décide de se séparer de Ducati, racheté par le fond d'investissement américain Texas Pacific Group.

En 2006, le fonds d'investissement italien Invest Industrial rachète 100 % des parts de Ducati à TPG. La marque redevient donc totalement italienne.