Premium car maker Audi, which is a unit of the Volkswagen group of Germany, is set to acquire motorcycle maker Ducati Motor Holding from Investindustrial in a deal valued at US $1.1 billion or 860 million euros.

According to a person closer to the matter, the deal value takes into consideration the debt owned by the company. Audi has entered into an agreement with Investindustrial to acquire Ducati, which is a luxury motorbikes maker based in Bologna, Italy.

Stuttgart - Ferdinand Piech, the German industrialist at the centre of a titanic struggle over the fate of Porsche, has agreed to an outside investor helping to save the sports-car maker, Porsche said Wednesday.

Piech, who owns 13 per cent of Porsche, has advocated Porsche's absorption into Volkswagen Group, where Piech is board chairman. He had earlier criticized efforts to bring in an Arab investor as co-owner of Porsche.