Canyon, the direct-to-consumer bike brand whose latest Aeroad model was ridden to victory at the Tour of Flanders last Sunday by Mathieu van der Poel, is in the sights of private equity investors for a potential sale worth €500 million-plus, according to Bloomberg.
Suitors for the Koblenz, Germany-based business are said to include US-based private equity giants KKR & Co and Carlyle Group, as well as Advent International, Apax Partners, General Atlantic and Permira.
The bike brand is reported to have appointed the investment bank Robert W. Baird & Co on a potential sale of the business, although discussions with interested parties are ongoing with no final agreements reached as yet.
Interest in the business is said to have been sparked by the growth in cycling in urban areas in Europe since the COVID-19 crisis started earlier this year.
However, the bicycle sector, particularly at the high end, has proved attractive to investors in rece t years.
Italian brands Pinarello and Colnago have both been sold to private equity firms, while Rapha is now majority owned by an investment firm owned by two of the heirs to the Wal-Mart grocery fortune.