Accell Group Expands into North America

HEERENVEEN, Netherlands (Feb 15) - Accell Group N.V. announces that it is in talks on the acquisition of all outstanding shares in Seattle Bike Supply Inc. (SBS). SBS is based in Seattle (United States), and has an annual turnover of around USD 36 million. SBS is active in the middle and higher segments of the market for sports bicycles, bicycle parts and accessories. The company has a strong distribution network, which supplies the majority of the specialist bicycle stores in the United States and Canada. With its Redline brand, SBS is the world market leader in the BMX segment, a key segment in North America and Australia. Accell expects to complete the acquisition in the near future and will finance it from its own resources. After Europe, North America is the second most important market for high-grade bicycles, bicycle parts and accessories. Accell Group is currently active on a limited scale in the North American bicycle market via a number of brands. SBS’ extensive distribution network is an excellent complement to this activity and also offers opportunities in the field of fitness equipment. SBS also has a number of strong own brands, including Redline, Torker (cruisers), Pryme (accessories) and Potenza (accessories), which have so far seen very little distribution in Europe. In its turn, SBS will be able to utilise the expertise of Accell Group in the field of trekking bicycles, a market segment which is still up and coming in North America. René Takens, Chairman of the Board of Accell Group: ‘’The North American bicycle market is interesting to us because after Europe it is the second largest market where high-quality bicycles are sold on a large scale. Moreover, there is a clear trend in North America towards healthier living and more exercise, and the bicycle plays a key role in this. National and state authorities in the United States have launched campaigns to encourage Americans to cycle more. Meanwhile, more new bikes than new cars are sold annually in the United States. The acquisition of SBS, including the biggest BMX brand in the world, Redline, not only means we acquire an interesting position, albeit somewhat modest at the moment, in the North American bicycle market, we also obtain a top-five position in the market for bicycle parts and accessories’’.