HEERENVEEN, Netherlands (BRAIN) — Nearly six months after securing new investors with the goal of restructuring and reducing debt, Accell Group announced Wednesday that it has started insolvency proceedings.
In February, Accell and U.S.-based investment firm KKR announced that Accell secured a new investment, that its major lenders were part of its new ownership group, and that the lenders had agreed to a plan they said would reduce Accell's debt and place it on more stable financial footing. KKR, which led a group that paid $1.77 billion for Accell in 2022, retained no equity in the company after the February transaction.
Since then, according to Accell, its advisors have "explored every possible avenue for the group's future, including discussions with several interested parties, the consideration of multiple offers, and seeking regulatory approval for a potential merger."
Accell is the owner of the bike and e-bike brands Raleigh, Haibike, Winora, Ghost, Batavus, Koga, Lapierre, Sparta, Babboe, and Carqon, and the P&A brand XLC. This year Accell divested two of its brands, selling its titanium frame brand, Van Nicholas, to the Italian cargo brand Velo-ce, and its Nishiki bike brand to Turkey's Kron Bicycle (In the U.S., Dick's Sporting Goods continues to own rights to the Nishiki brand).
"This is a deeply sad and frustrating situation given all the hard work and everything we have achieved, with the support of shareholders and lenders, to restructure Accell's operations and finances," Accell CEO Jonas Nilsson said in a statement. "It is an especially difficult moment for our employees, creditors, customers, suppliers, and partners. Every realistic option for the future of the business has been tirelessly explored, and none have resulted in a solution to continue the Group in its current form.
"Our immediate focus is to support an orderly process, provide clarity wherever possible, and work with the relevant court-appointed administrators to preserve viable activities and employment where circumstances allow."
