Dutch cycle makers gear up for merger talks
DUTCH transport importer Pon Holdings announced yesterday it was talking to bicycle maker Accell over a multi-million-euro takeover, which, if approved, will create the “world’s biggest bicycle manufacturer”.
“Pon Holdings confirms that it has provided a nonbinding, conditional proposal to Accell Group to combine Accell Group with its own bicycle activities,” Pon said in a statement.
The merger, if approved will “create the world’s largest bike company” it said from its headquarters in the central Dutch city of Almere.
Po n i s o f f e r i n g 3 2 . 7 2 ($34.64) per share for Accell, which Dutch public newscaster NOS reported is some 2 0 perc e nt a bove Accel l’s current market value and comes to a total of around 845 million. “The offer i s f or al l our activities including our bicycles and accessories,” Accell chief executive Rene Takens told AFP.
Worldwide ride
Pon employs more than 13,000 people in 32 countries and owns world-famous bicycle brands such as Derby Cycles, Santa Cruz and Union bicycles, as well as the omnipresent Gazelle bicycle brand in the Netherlands.
This year it is expected to sell an estimated 800,000 bicycles around the world with a total turnover of around 700 million, Pon said.
Accell in turn has around 3,000 people in 18 countries and owns bicycle factories in China, Fra nce, Ger many, Hungary, the Netherlands and Turkey.
It owns brands such as Batavus and Sparta in the Netherlands, Lapierre in France and Raleigh and Diamondback in Britain, Canada and the United States.
Last year Accell, based in Heerenveen in northern Netherlands, sold 1.5 million bicycles worldwide with turnover of more than 1.0 billion, it said in a statement.
Accell is “carefully reviewing and considering all aspects of the proposal together with their financial and legal advisors,” it said.
“There can be no assurance that any transaction will result from these discussions,” Accell added.
The Dutch first fell in love with cycling in the 1880s and the country has been one of the world’s leading bike makers ever since.
Bikes outnumber people in The Netherlands, with an estimated 22.7 million cycles for some 17 million people, according to the latest statistics by Dutch transport federation BOVAG.