MONTREAL (BRAIN) — Dorel Industries has agreed to sell Dorel Sports to Pon Holdings for $810 million in cash.
Dorel Sports is the parent group of Cannondale, Schwinn, GT and Mongoose. Pon Holdings is the parent of many bike brands, including Cervélo, Santa Cruz, and Gazelle. Pon, a privately held Dutch group with businesses in several sectors, recently acquired the Mike's Bikes retail chain in California.
"By combining Pon.Bike and Dorel Sports, a leading bicycle company in the world will be created, with a combined revenue of around 2.5 billion euro ($2.9 billion)," Pon said in a release Monday.
Janus Smalbraak, the CEO of Pon Holdings, said, "Today's step is a milestone in the creation of a world-leading bike company with a variety of quality brands. With the acquisition of Gazelle in 2012 we launched a strategy that step by step led us to the 1.5 billion in revenue bike group that we are today, with great comfort and performance bicycle brands, of which 70 percent electric. As a result of this strategy, we have now reached a highlight with the acquisition of Dorel Sports. They have a rich history with their iconic bike brands all with an impressive heritage. Schwinn is an institute in the US. Caloi the pride of Brazil. And Cannondale is a truly global brand with an excellent reputation. Dorel Sports really is complementary to Pon.Bike and that's why this is such a logical step. Together we can further cater the ever growing demand for quality and electric bikes, whether it's for urban use, leisure or sports. Biking is not only healthy, it also plays a critical role in fighting inner-city congestion. It's one of the most sustainable ways of transport. We are determined to make bikes a powerful part of mobility."
Dorel will retain its juvenile and furniture divisions and said it expects to use net proceeds to strengthen its balance sheet, return capital to shareholders and for general corporate purposes. The sale is expected to close before the end of the first quarter of 2022.
Dorel's board has approved the sale.
"Acting on feedback from our shareholders, Dorel embarked on a thorough review of strategic alternatives earlier this year. Our objective has consistently been to create value for our shareholders. The divestiture of Dorel Sports represents a unique opportunity to unlock value by capitalizing on strong demand for scaled assets in the bicycle segment," said Martin Schwartz, Dorel's President and CEO. "On behalf of the Board of Directors, I extend my sincere thanks to the entire Dorel Sports team for their outstanding efforts over the years. Dorel Sports has been an important part of our organization since 2004 and we are very proud of the global success it has achieved. While making the decision to sell Dorel Sports has been difficult, we are confident that this transaction represents full value for Dorel shareholders," Schwartz added.
Early this year Dorel had explored taking itself off the stock exchange, but shareholder groups did not approve that move.
Dorel will announce its third quarter results on Nov. 5.
Dorel Sports' bike brands are Cannondale, Schwinn, Mongoose, GT, Charge, Caloi, and KidTrax.
Pon.Bike's brands are Gazelle, Kalkhoff, Focus, Santa Cruz, Cervélo, Swapfiets, Urban Arrow, BBB Cycling, Lease a Bike, Union, Reserve Wheels, and Juliana.
