Pacific takes over Mongoose

LAKE FOREST, Illinois/USA -- Brunswick Corporation’s sale of its bicycle division to Pacifc Cycles LLC ended months of speculation about the fate of the Mongoose brand, one of the pioneering names in BMX. Pacific paid $60 million, including $48.5 million in cash and $11.5 million in notes. The purchase included the Mongoose Pro and Roadmaster brands as well as Mongoose. The divestiture allows Brunswick to concentrate on its core sporting goods businesses, include marine engines, pleasure boats, fitness equipment, bowling and billiards. Pacific Cycles, based in Madison, Wisconsin, is partly owned by the investment firm of Wind Point Partners, which has offices in Chicago and Southfield, Michigan. Brunswick marketed Mongoose through mass merchandisers, with Wal-mart and Target being two of its largest customers. It also sold its Mongoose Pro models through indepedent bicycle dealers and sporting goods stores. Roadmaster was positioned as an entry-level line for the mass merchant. Pacific, founded in 1977, sells its bicycles primarily through Toys R Us, Target, Sears and Kmart. In 2000, it sold more that 1.1 million bicyces. With the addition of the Brunswick brands, the company optimistically aims at 5 million. While Pacific president Chris Hornung has maintained a low profile over the years, industry insiders credit him with building a profitable enterprise that has minimal staff, no distribution overhead (product is drop-shipped directly to customers) and which has provided a dealer look-alike bike to mass merchants hungry to upgrade their product.(WJ)