Gazelle wants to acquire Batavus and become the world's largest bike manufacturer

Dutch company Pon, owner of the Gazelle bike brand, has offered 850 million euro to acquire its competitor Accell. Including Accell’s brands Batavus and Sparta, Pon would manufacture 2.3 million bikes per year and become the global market leader.

Acquisition not a certainty

To acquire Accell, Pon offers to pay 32.72 euro per share or 846 million euro in total, 23.3 % more than the current stock value. Thanks to the bid, Accell’s share value has risen sharply today. “The board and management are carefully examining and evaluating the offer, alongside legal and financial advisors”, Accell said in a press release. “We cannot confirm these talks will lead to a transaction.”

In 2016, Accell sold 1.5 million bikes, worth a billion euro in turnover. It owns 25 brands, including Batavus, Sparta and Raleigh and is market leader in the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. The group’s shares belong to several shareholders, of which estate manager Fidelity is the largest, with 10.1 %.

Pon only generates ten percent of its turnover from bike sales, but hopes to expand that thanks to this acquisition. The largest family company’s total turnover does exceed seven billion euro, mainly through the import of several car brands.