PHILADELPHIA (BRAIN) — Tiger Group, a liquidator that bought the wholesale operations of ASE out of bankruptcy last year, has sold the operations, now called BikeCo, to Advanced Holdings Co. LTD.
BikeCo handles manufacturing, marketing and distribution of the Fuji, Breezer, Tuesday, and SE bicycle brands to a network of approximately 700 bike dealers. BikeCo. is led by Frank Zimmer, who was promoted from vice president of sales to president on Aug. 1.
Tiger Group and Advanced Holdings paid $23 million for the ASI assets on Feb. 1. At the time, Advanced Holdings Co. LTD, was described as a private equity firm based in Hong Kong, which specializes in investing in Asian and international companies. Advanced Holdings has ties to the owner of Ideal Bike and is a secured creditor of ASE. Advanced Holdings loaned $7 million to ASE in 2017. The owner of Advanced Holdings is managed by JF Hsu.
"Throughout the entire post-auction process, Tiger helped preserve our company while instituting key efficiencies to strengthen our business," said Zimmer. "The Tiger team, with Ryan Davis as our interim CEO, used their industry contacts and business acumen to implement cost-cutting measures, while protecting the company's vision. We now have a stronger balance sheet and a clear path for future success."
Also on Feb. 1, California e-commerce company Amain purchased the Performance and Nashbar e-commerce business from the bankruptcy court and K&B Investment Corporation, a real estate investment company connected to the Miami-based distributor J&B Imports, bought some of the company's real estate assets. The Performrance brick & mortar stores were shut down.
Zimmer is an 18-year veteran of the bicycle industry who has been with ASE for the past 14 years. ASE employs more than 40 people.
Interim CEO Davis is a managing director at Tiger Group LLC, a well known large-scale liquidator that's been involved with the liquidation of bankrupt retailers including Toys R Us and Circuit City.
Following the sale, Davis said one of the key challenges facing the new ownership and management team was retaining BikeCo's dealer network during a period earlier this year when outside liquidators were selling off inventory from ASE's now-defunct Performance Bicycle retail operation. At that time, Performance Bicycle had over 100 company-owned locations throughout the U.S.
"The resilience of the BikeCo team through such a tough period is a testament to their character," said Davis in a statement Wednesday. "The entire organization worked tirelessly to retain the dealer network, which demonstrates their dedication to their customers and to the sport. We're extremely proud to have been their partner, and we look forward to watching them continue to succeed."
