Just who's coming up on the inside at Ducati?

The offloading of a 33% stake could signal the sale of the world's most prestigious motorbike maker

Ducati of Italy, eleven times winner of the world Superbike championships, could soon change drivers. Its largest shareholder, US fund Texas Pacific Group, is putting its 33.5 per cent stake up for sale.

The move has been widely rumoured in Milan after Ducati shares hit a one-year low of €1.39 on 10 October. They have since rallied to close at €1.79 on Friday. Texas Pacific is believed to be looking for around €2 a share. Under Italian takeover rules, anyone buying more than 30 per cent of a company's shares has to bid for the rest. This would put a price tag of around €330m on Ducati.

Ducati's managing director Carlo Di Biagio claimed his main shareholder was in no hurry to sell: "Sooner or later Texas Pacific will sell, as that's the fund's business," he said, "but as far as I know such a decision is not imminent. Volumes traded are at their top for the last few years, but this means nothing."

Speculation in Milan is that Ducati could either be taken private or be heading for foreign ownership.

"Ducati has a strong brand while being a profitable company," commented a Milan analyst. "Some other fund could be interested in buying it cheap now, delisting it and maybe floating it again when the full value of the company is exploited. We in Milan are experiencing something similar with Ferretti [the motor-yacht group taken over by Permira]."

The analyst went on to describe Harley-Davidson as "a name in the air as a possible suitor".

Questioned on Harley-Davidson, Mr Di Biagio explained that Ducati operated in a different sector, and as the two companies were not competitors, they could be a good fit. But he stressed that he had not so far been approached by Harley-Davidson.

Founded by three brothers in 1926, Ducati is one of the best-known brand names in motorcyling. However, in the early 1990s, while its bikes were already dominating the Superbike tracks, the Bologna-based company suffered serious financial difficulties. Its new era began in 1996 after Texas Pacific bought it, turned it around and floated it both in Milan and on the NYSE.