Mercedes-Benz is buying 25 percent of Italy’s MV Agusta Motor SpA as it follows luxury-car competitor BMW and Audi into the motorcycle market.

Mercedes signed a long-term marketing and distribution partnership together with the stake purchase, the unit of Stuttgart-based Daimler AG and the Varese-based motorcycle-maker said in a statement Friday. The companies did not disclose the financial terms.

Mercedes once had a marketing partnership with motorcycle-maker Ducati, which ended when Volkswagen AG’s Audi unit bought the Italian brand in 2012. The latest deal gets Mercedes back into the market with motorcycles like MV Agusta’s Brutale racing bike and new Stradale 800 tourer.

“We have found the perfect two-wheel partner,” Tobias Moers, who leads the Mercedes AMG performance division, said in the statement. “The partnership provides us with an entry into a world of additional high-performance enthusiasts.”

Mercedes AMG will also get a seat on the board of MV Agusta, which laid out plans last year to double sales within three years and to aim for a stock listing. The companies said they expect regulatory approval for the transaction by the end of November.

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, the world’s biggest luxury carmaker, also produces motorcycles. (Bloomberg)