Minerva, a Belgian bicycle manufacturer, was declared bankrupt on June 25 by a commercial court in Hasselt, Belgium. Employing 16 people, the company reportedly had an annual production of about 20,000 city and trekking bikes. Minerva is an established bicycle brand in Belgium and even more so in the province of Limburg. It was purchased from the founding family in 2009 by Peter Bruggeman, its chief executive, with support from LRM, an investment firm. The company's receivers and Bruggeman are searching for takeover candidates, either for the entire company or its two brands, Minerva and Scoppio, a secondary brand of racing bikes launched last year. They were sold by about 200 dealers in the Benelux countries. The company was apparently unable to overcome two weak years after heavy investments in new facilities three years ago. Minerva operated as an importer and distributor for electrical bicycles, nutritional supplements and various after-market products.

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