Jan-Willem van Schaik

HEERENVEEN, the Netherlands - The initial offer of the KKR-led consortium for the Accell Group's share was not welcomed by all parties involved. Especially the smaller shareholders were not content and felt being put under pressure to register their shares anyway. Now KKR will start legal buy-out proceedings in order to obtain 100% of the shares.

LONDON, UK - To facilitate its European expansion, insurance company Laka has secured additional funding from Porsche Ventures, the venture capital unit of Porsche AG. This brings its Series A, led by Autotech Ventures and by Ponooc, who has close ties to Pon, and ABN AMRO, to €12.7 million.

REDDITCH, UK - After significant increases in e-bike and bicycle sales volumes last year, Halfords UK gave a clear indication that rising inflation and the cost of living will impact this year's demand. Still Halfords UK remains confident on the longer-term outlook for bikes as government infrastructure and climate needs necessitate greener modes of transport.

HINCKLEY, UK - Clarks focus on the OEM marketplace throughout 2020 and 2021, has delivered a successful programme of expansion and in turn accelerated company growth. "The success of our OEM sales in the UK, Europe, Taiwan and China is built upon a JIT programme which delivers quality products, efficiently and at speed, despite the problems caused by the pandemic, allowing us to forge partnerships with over 300 cycle brands across the globe," Clarks reports.

SUZHOU, China - Bafang introduces its new 3-speed automatic gear hub. This intelligent-acting hub takes over the manual process of changing gears in accordance with the speed. Weighing only 1.7 kg, this 80Nm hub can be supported by both chain- and belt-driven motors.

TALLINN, Estonia - The recent initial public offering on the Baltic First North market gave room for expansion of the Estonia cargo-bike manufacturer Hagen Bikes, also known as KP Cyclery. Recently the company launched three new models and expanded to Germany and France.

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam - To maintain the production of bicycles for the European market, Cambodia and Vietnam have agreed to ensure the sustainability of the value chain. It became necessary to meet trade demands between the two countries in accordance with the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which came into force in July 2020.

HEFEI, China - The strict COVID regulations imposed in Shanghai made the organisers of the China Cycle 2022 decide not just to postpone the show, but also relocate the event almost 500 km east to Hefei, the capital of the Anhui province.

ANTWERP, Belgium - Belgian cycling start-up, Claissfied, the developer of the award-winning Powershift technology, has made a move from its previous facilities in Turnhout to Antwerp. Recently the company's headquarters was inaugurated in the presence of high ranking city officials.

NUREMBERG, Germany - In three of Europe's main e-bike markets, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, the average retail price for e-bikes have increased by 12% this year compared with 2021. This was reported by the recent GfK E-Bike Monitor.