Ciao, baby! MV Agusta is Italian again

On August 6, Harley-Davidson sold its high-performance brand to its former owner.

No, they didn't sell Buell to Erik Buell.  Buell Motorcycle Company is still dead and  H-D still owns the  names and the patents.

Harley did, however, sell its other performance company, MV Agusta, to Claudio Castiglioni and his wholly owned holding company, MV Agusta Motor Holding, S.r.l.

Castiglioni is the former owner of the Italian motorcycle maker and has served as MV Agusta's chairman since 2008, when Harley-Davidson acquired the company.

In October 2009, Harley-Davidson announced its intention to sell MV Agusta as part of a new corporate strategy to focus resources on the Harley-Davidson brand. That intention included pulling the plug on Buell. Since then, Harley-Davidson has held discussions with various potential MV Agusta buyers.

"MV Agusta is a proud brand and we wish Mr. Castiglioni and the company's employees well," said Harley-Davidson President and Chief Executive Officer Keith Wandell.  "Our decision to divest MV Agusta reflects our strategy to focus our efforts and our investment on the Harley-Davidson brand, as we believe this provides an optimal path to long-term growth."