FGvW advises Accell Group on its acquisition of (e-)cargo bike specialist Velosophy

The Dutch Accell Group N.V. increases its stake in Velosophy B.V. to 100%, after having held a minority stake in Velosophy for years. The Dutch company Velosophy is an innovative provider of e-cargo bike solutions for consumers and businesses. The Velosophy Group includes Babboe, the European market leader for family transport wheels, the premium load wheel brand CarQon and Centaur Cargo, specialist for B2B load wheels for "last mile deliveries". With this acquisition, the Accell Group strengthens its innovation strategy, which is focused among other things on the development of mobility solutions in cities. The Accell Group will finance the acquisition from its own funds. The transaction is subject to approval by the German antitrust authorities and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018.
 
The Accell Group was advised in this transaction by Rutgers & Posch, our Dutch best friends law firm. FGvW supported Accell in the German aspects of the transaction, in particular in the course of the due diligence review and the registration with the German Federal Cartel Office. Contact persons were Dr. Barbara Mayer (M&A) and Stephanie von Riegen (merger antitrust law). FGvW already advises the Accell Group on its activities in Germany. The contact was made through the Dutch law firm Rutgers & Posch.
 
Velosophy employs around 50 people, is growing rapidly and achieved sales of 17.7 million euros in 2017. The Babboe brand was founded more than 10 years ago with the aim of making load bikes available to young families. Babboe is now market leader in Europe and active in 22 countries. To serve the upper end of the market, Velosophy 2018 launched CarQon, a high-quality e-cargo bike with an innovative and award-winning design. Velosophy's Centaur Cargo serves the rapidly growing market for city electric bicycles.
 
The Accell Group focuses internationally on the mid- and high-end market segment for bicycles and bicycle parts and accessories. The company is one of the leading suppliers in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy, France, Finland, Turkey, Great Britain and the USA. In Europe, the Accell Group is the market leader in the bicycle market in terms of sales. The Accell Group and its subsidiaries employ approximately 3,000 people in eighteen countries worldwide. Accell Group products are sold in more than seventy countries. In 2017, the Accell Group sold around 1.3 million bicycles and achieved sales of over 1 billion euros.

Advisors of Accell Group / contact:

Dr. Barbara Mayer, Partner (M&A), Freiburg
Stephanie von Riegen, Associate (Merger Antitrust Law), Freiburg