MILAN (BRAIN) — Asobi Ventures, an Austin, Texas, group that acquired a majority share in Gruppo Srl in 2021, has acquired the remaining shares. Gruppo Srl is the parent of Cinelli and Columbus.
Asobi Ventures Inc, is the family investment vehicle of Victor Luis. The company said it "has been investing in talent, systems and product development to create a sustainable model for the long-term development of the two most iconic brands in the biking world."
Victor Luis said, "My family and I could not be prouder to have been entrusted as stewards of these magnificent brands. Since 1919, Columbus has held a unique place in Italian industrial history as a manufacturer of high tech precision tubing, as a luxury furniture brand and as supplier of high-performance proprietary steel alloys and tubing to the world’s finest bicycle brands and independent artisans and craftsman. Celebrating this year the 75th Anniversary since its founding by the great Cino Cinelli, Cinelli has been a leader in blending form and function as a world and Olympic champion as well as a trailblazer of the urban fixed gear bike movement. Our family and our teams look forward to bringing Cinelli back to its leadership position as a house of innovation, design, and technology while blazing new trails in urban culture.”
Marcello Segato, Gruppo’s CEO said, “It's an exciting challenge that we are undertaking, to grow these unique brands to a global scale in our core and new categories while remaining true to the legacy of our founder Cino Cinelli and the Colombo family and its guardian Antonio Colombo. Antonio’s vision and unprecedented will to merge cycling with art and design inspires our future and we are now preparing the path to develop our strategy on the foundations he has laid.”
Gruppo also announced that Lodovico Pignatti Morano is joining the company as its creative director. Morano was previously with the company from 2009-2011.
