Just ahead of the Christmas Holidays, Canadian road and triathlon bike specialist Cervélo confirmed that it had ‘entered into a financing arrangement with PON Holdings BV. In addition, Cervélo and PON have signed a Letter of Intent that enables both parties to agree on a sale of Cervélo in exclusivity.’
PON’s acquisition of Cervélo would inject further resources into expanding the Cervélo brand and would clearly add financial muscle to the company. The timing of the deal is particularly interesting as Cervélo brings its new P5 triathlon/time trial bike to market.
On 21 September 2011, PON Holdings BV announced its intention to make a public offer for all outstanding shares of Derby Cycle, which owns brands such as Focus and Raleigh. PON nows owns 92% of Derby, having acquired further shares in December and following the purchase of Accell Group’s 22% stake in the company.
Last Thursday, 29 December, Cervélo issued an update to its announcement…
Thanks to everybody who commented on our message that we’re contemplating a sale of the company. To answer some of your questions, here is a bit of background. Cervélo has experienced exceptional growth and success since we started 16 years ago. A potential sale of the company allows us to continue to grow Cervélo without changing any of the things that make it special.
Cervélo will continue to be based in Toronto, with the same team of people, with the same desire to engineer the best bikes on the planet. It will stand by old products and create exciting new ones, starting with the new P5 which will be launched next month. Stay tuned.
