Amsgterdam (Reuters) – A billion-dollar takeover is imminent in the bicycle industry.
A consortium led by the financial investor KKR wants to buy the Dutch manufacturer Accell Group with brands such as “Batavus” and “Sparta” for a total of 1.56 billion euros, as the companies announced in a joint statement on Monday. “We want to further develop the Netherlands as the world capital of cycling and expand the leading position in the European electric bicycle market,” explained KKR partner Daan Knottenbelt. The two major shareholders, Teslin and Hoogh Blarick, support the takeover. Accell shares shot up 24 percent on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange.
The financial investor is offering Accell shareholders 58 euros in cash per share, which corresponds to a premium of 26 percent on Friday’s closing price. Accell’s chairman, Rob ter Haar, said the board supported KKR’s offer. It offers “compelling and immediate value” for shareholders and helps the company with its strategic development.
In 2017, Accell rejected a takeover bid by the Dutch family group Pon Holdings for EUR 33 per share. Pon wanted to merge Accell with its own bike brands like Gazelle, but the plan fell through. In October 2021, Pon snapped up the bicycle subsidiary of the Canadian conglomerate Dorel for the equivalent of around 700 million euros.
The entire bicycle industry is currently booming, also due to the corona pandemic. Many people want to avoid public transport and have switched to e-bikes. Accell increased its sales in 2020 by 17 percent to 1.3 billion euros. The Koblenz racing bike manufacturer Canyon was valued at around 800 million euros when it sold a majority stake to the Adidas wholesaler GBL at the end of 2020.