News: Nottingham’s Raleigh sold to Dutch Accell Group N.V.

Press release: The Directors of Raleigh Cycle Limited are pleased to announce that they have reached agreement on the sale of Raleigh to Accell Group N.V.

There is a very complementary fit between the two businesses, with very little geographical overlap; in particular Raleigh will immediately give Accell Group a major presence in the UK, the USA and Canada (where Raleigh operates its own production facility).

The two businesses also share the same management values and a similar decentralised management structure.

Raleigh operates in the UK, USA and Canada, along with worldwide licensing activities and a sourcing arm in Asia. Its best known global brands are Raleigh and Diamondback.

Accell Group values Raleigh at a company value (including average debt) of some €76 million ($100 million). The acquisition price for the Raleigh shares is approximately €60 million.

Raleigh’s management team intends to stay on after the acquisition, CEO Alan Finden-Crofts will stay at least another 6 months.

By acquiring Raleigh, Accell Group expects to realise significant potential synergies in the fields of supply chain, sourcing activities in Asia, purchasing advantages through economies of scale and intensified distribution of the brands of Accell Group and Raleigh in their respective markets. The closing of the Acquisition is subject to approval of the German competition authorities and is expected to occur at the end of May 2012.

Alan Finden-Crofts, CEO of Raleigh Cycle Limited: “I am delighted with the conclusion of the sale of Raleigh to Accell Group. As talks progressed with the various interested parties earlier this year, Accell Group emerged as the clear preferred buyer for the business, given the highly complementary product range and geographic presence of the two businesses. In Raleigh, Accell Group is acquiring a true global brand with 125 years of heritage and distribution into over 140 countries worldwide and I am entirely confident that Raleigh has found the ideal buyer to support the employees, customers, suppliers and the future growth of the business.”

Mark Gouldthorp – MD Raleigh UK: “This is great news for everyone involved with Raleigh in the UK – be they employees, retail partners or suppliers. We are confident in Raleigh UK’s current business strategy and are also very optimistic of the benefits to be gained by being part of the Accell Group of companies. With the synergies we have already identified, Raleigh UK expects to see accelerated sales growth both in the UK and in export markets within 2012.”

René Takens, CEO of Accell Group: “We are very pleased with the acquisition of Raleigh, another milestone for our company. Acquiring Raleigh adds a strong traditional and global brand with a rich heritage to our brand portfolio and with the Diamondback brand we strengthen our position in the mountain bike and BMX segment. We also strengthen our position in bicycle parts & accessories in North America and the United Kingdom improving Accell Group’s global competitiveness in this field. The acquisition will expand our activities to new geographical markets while benefiting from purchasing advantages through increased economies of scale. We have great confidence in Raleigh’s management team and will fully support future growth of Raleigh within our group.”