Bike Fun International (BFI), a bicycle maker based in the Czech Republic, and Consillium, a Prague-based private wealth management firm owned by Tomas Němec, have agreed on a transaction that will see Consillium acquire a 100 percent share in BFI. The deal was agreed on Oct. 1 and is expected to close by the turn of the year, subject to approval by anti-trust authorities. According to reports in Bike Europe, the founder and chief executive of BFI, Mark de Kwant, as well as other important members of the management team will continue to work for the company. BFI’s brands include Rock Machine, Superior and Frappe.
Like the fitness sector, the bike sector is witnessing an appetite for investment, illustrated by the interest shown by Cerberus Capital in the privatization of Dorel Industries. According to Bloomberg, a number of private equity firms are considering bids for the takeover of Canyon Bicycles, a German producer of medium and high-end bicycles that has developed an interesting direct-to-consumer model. It has added a line of e-bikes recently and is working on a new type of vehicle, similar to the old velomobile, that would replace the now-popular cargo e-bike.
Robert W. Baird, who has been working on the planned transaction, believes that it could fetch more than €500 million. Canyon entered the U.S. market in 2017, when TSG Consumer Partners acquired a large minority stake in the company. Besides the Carlyle Group, Advent International, Apax Partners, General Atlantic and Permira, one of the potential new investors is said to be KKR & Co., which recently led a $450 million investment round for Zwift, a virtual cycling platform that is now worth more than $1 billion.
