Hero Cycles, India's largest bicycle manufacturer, is acquiring a 47 percent stake in Mitteldeutsche Fahrradwerke (MIFA), the troubled German bicycle and e-bike maker. Through its subsidiary OPM Global, based in Amsterdam, Hero will buy shares worth up to €15 million in MIFA. This stands for a 10 percent capital increase and gives Hero exclusive rights to take over the company as well as subsequent rights to a total number of 4.9 million new shares to be issued. The investor, however, is asking MIFA's financing partners to waive some of their financial claims. Altogether, creditors are being asked to lower their claims by €15 to €20 million. The investor is also asking for an exemption from the German Financial Supervisory Authority from the obligation to make a public takeover offer under the the German Securities Acquisition and Takeover Act. Meanwhile, MIFA announced that this year's annual general meeting is expected to be postponed until the third quarter of 2014 due to the delayed publication of the annual financial statements.

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