  We find that $\sim 15-20$ per cent of A-type stars or red giants are bound
with a massive companion ($M_{\rm secondary} > 1M_{\odot}$) in an intermediate
wide orbit ($0.5<P<5000\mbox{ yr}$). These massive binaries are expected to
form wide-orbit, double-degenerate systems (WODDs) within $\lesssim10\mbox{
Gyr}$ implying that $\sim10$ per cent of white dwarfs (WDs) are expected to be
part of a WODD with a lighter WD companion. These findings are based on an
analysis of previous adaptive optics observations of A-type stars and radial
velocity measurements of red giants and shed light on the claimed discrepancy
between the seemingly high multiplicity function of stars and the rather low
number of detected double degenerates. We expect that GAIA will find $\sim 10$
new WODDs within $20\mbox{ pc}$ from the sun. These results put a stringent
constraint on the collision model of type Ia supernovae in which triple stellar
systems that include a WODD as the inner binary are required to be abundant.
