Latest Corporate and M&A
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ArticlePierer Mobility and Maxcom join forces for new e-bike factory
On July 21, Austria’s Pierer Mobility AG and Bulgaria’s largest bicycle manufacturer Maxcom Ltd. announced the establishment of a joint venture in which each party will hold a 50 percent stake. With an investment of €40 million, this joint venture will develop a state-of-the-art e-bike production facility in ...
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DDK Group increases production capacity with new factories in Vietnam
Like all Asian manufacturers, the Taiwanese bike saddle manufacturer DDK Group has been overwhelmed by much higher production demand than expected. Not only is DDK’s factory in Changhua, Taiwan, running at full capacity, but the group’s factories in Nantong, China, and in Thủ Dầu Một, Vietnam, are also overloaded. ...
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USWE expands offering with premium cycling apparel through acquisition of VOID Cycling
On July 16, USWE Sports AB , founded in Skåne, Sweden, in 2007, signed an agreement to acquire VOID Cycling , founded in Gothenburg in 2014, from Tenson BV and Color Group BV . Both USWE and VOID are strong in e-commerce and have each established a global presence. ...
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New Canadian brand norda launches seamless trail running shoe made of bio-based Dyneema
norda™ , a young Canadian running shoe brand, introduced the first seamless trail running shoe made from bio-based Dyneema® fiber. norda was “founded with a mission to empower athletes to reach their highest potential through innovation and cutting-edge technology” and is the brainchild of Willamina ...
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Shimano with new factory in Singapore, new machines in Japan
A few weeks ago, Japanese bicycle component manufacturer Shimano Inc. had to close its Malaysian plant, forced by the Malaysian government’s Covid lockdown. The Japanese company now announced that it would invest in a new factory in Singapore and new machinery in Japan. All this is being done with ...
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Portugal officially inaugurates Europe’s first large-scale carbon frame factory
Led by Portugal’s minister of state for the economy and digital transformation, Pedro Siza Vieira , Carbon Team ’s new production facilities were officially inaugurated on July 9 in Camoia, in the Portuguese municipality of Vouzela. Carbon Team is the first European automated carbon bicycle frame factory outside Asia. Hardtail ...
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Klarna acquires social shopping platform Hero
Klarna , the retail banking, payments and shopping service from Sweden with over 90 million active users worldwide and 2 million transactions per day, has acquired Hero , a social shopping platform founded in 2015 and based in London and New York. Hero aims “to provide consumers with inspiration, advice ...
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Authentic Brands moves Spyder license to Liberated Brands
Authentic Brands Group ( ABG ) has announced the transition of its core licenses for its ski-focused Spyder brand to Liberated Brands . Under the terms of the new long-term agreement, Liberated Brands will assume outerwear and apparel sourcing, product design, marketing, wholesale, e-commerce and retail store operations ...
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Woom-Europe merges with Woom-USA
Austrian children’s and youth bicycle supplier Woom GmbH has acquired its U.S. import partner and placed it under its corporate umbrella. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed. The merger of Woom-Europe with Woom-USA is one of several strategic steps the company is taking to grow. ...
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Silva acquired by growth equity investor, paving way for expansion
Verdane , a Northern European specialist growth equity investor, has acquired the Swedish brand Silva , manufacturer of high-quality compasses, headlamps, and sports equipment, founded in 1933. Silva had been in the hands of Scandinavian private equity investment firm Karnell ( K3 Fund ) since 2011 when it acquired ...
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Outdoor-Profis becomes wholly owned Sport 2000 subsidiary
Outdoor-Profis GmbH , the umbrella company for the outdoor specialty retailers that are part of the Sport 2000 sporting goods buying group, has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Sport 2000 GmbH group. Acquisition details were not disclosed. Previously, Sport 2000 held an unspecified minority stake in Outdoor-Profis. With ...
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Calida Group to sell Millet Mountain Group
Following the successful divestments of Oxbow and Eider , the Swiss Calida Group now intends to continue its strategic focus and concentrate on its core lingerie and underwear business with a sharpened brand portfolio by selling off the rest of its outdoor brands. Recent business developments have illustrated, ...
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bd-capital invests in shopping club SportPursuit
SportPursuit , a flash sales website for premium outdoor and sports gear currently selling mainly in the U.K. and Germany, announced its partnership with bd-capital , a London-based, pan-European, operationally managed private equity firm established in 2019. According to a company statement, bd-capital’s investment, which was not disclosed in a ...
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3T starts carbon frame production in Italy
After causing a stir in 2018 with the presentation of its domestically manufactured carbon aero crank “ Torno ”, the Italian high-end niche supplier 3T Cycling is finally following suit and ready to offer carbon frames 100 percent “Made in Italy.” In 2019, 3T had started ...
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Eagle Creek to be shut down in fall for financial and strategic reasons
As previously noted , VF Corp . has decided to cease operations of its Eagle Creek travel and luggage brand this fall. Before the end of the company’s activities, pre-orders for fall/winter will be delivered and also follow-up business is planned to be served - as far as possible ...
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Private equity firm invests in German bicycle retailer LJB
The private equity firm Borromin Capital has invested in the German bicycle retail chain Little John Bikes GmbH ( LJB ) to drive the retailer’s national growth and to support the company’s further structural and strategic development in the areas of regional presence expansion, corporate acquisitions and the ...
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Signa Sports United buys bike e-tailer Wiggle - and plans to go public
Through a merger with Yucaipa Acquisition Corporation , a U.S. special purpose acquisition company, the previously indicated IPO (see SGI Europe ) of Berlin-based Signa Sports United ( SSU ), led by Austrian investor Rene Benko , will now proceed faster than anticipated. According to a projected valuation, the combined ...
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New boss and new structures for Dachstein’s parent
Juha Luhtanen , 51, became the new managing director of the Luhta Sportswear Company on May 4, taking the place of his older brother, Vesa Luhtanen , who has retired after many years at the helm of the Finnish-based family-owned company, previously known as the L-Fashion Group . The ...
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Bike and sports e-commerce retailer Bike24 plans to go public in 2021
In September 2019, private equity firm The Riverside Company bought back German e-commerce retailer for cycling, outdoor, fitness and swimming products, Bike24 GmbH , from British cycling e-commerce giant Wiggle CRC . Riverside had sold the continental European cycling online platform to the British industry giant in 2017. However, ...
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IPO of the bicycle certificate based on first and newly created bicycle stock index
For the first time, investors can now invest in a specific certificate on what the company describes as “the world’s first bicycle index.” The planned date for the IPO on the Frankfurt Certificates Exchange is June 21. 10 percent of the annual fee of 1.3 percent of this so-called ...
