Enve Sold - US Private Investment Group
 

Oy. That doesn't seem like a good omen.

Hmmmm....

Enve frames are made in China and Enve rims are made in the US.

Previously, Enve was owned by the Chinese company Anta sports, now it is owned by the US company PV3.

Does that mean that Enve's frames were previously made domestically and their rims were made off-shore, but now Enve's frames are made off-shore and their rims are made domestically?

What tangled web this international economy is.

Private equity isn't always bad. For every Kona there's also a Colnago.

not necessary bad to me.. have to wait.

Can't find much on PV3, but the CEO's name is searchable. Appears to have made his money in buying up extended health care facilities prior to PV3, so that's not great. But, he also appears to be a cyclist, so maybe this isn't a "squeeze every penny out" investment? I guess time will tell.

Quoting from Enve Composite's IG post: "Today, ENVE enters a new chapter. Utah-based family investment company PV3 is acquiring ENVE from Amer Sports in a deal that will preserve and support the brand in its continued growth. Mark Hancock, Principal at PV3, is an avid cyclist and ENVE customer who has had interest in acquiring ENVE for a number of years. The brand strength and strategic direction of the company played into the desire to purchase ENVE. ⁠
⁠
Since 2007, ENVE has been producing premium parts in Ogden and PV3 is dedicated to maintaining our heritage as a Utah-based manufacturer and leader in composites technology. This is made possible by our 80,000 square foot facility that houses engineering, R&D, manufacturing, sales, marketing, customer service, and finance functions. What happens tomorrow? The same thing we did yesterday - continue making world-class cycling products."

Seems like a meh, one private conglomerate to another.

The rich get richer.

Show me one thats good, honestly.

I'm not using good in a moral sense, just in with respect to growth and success of the business. In the cycling industry, just about every major company outside of Shimano is privately owned. You can pick who you think is "good" or "bad" for yourself.

As I noted in my post, Colnago was sold in 2020 to a middle-eastern based private equity firm and has been doing quite well lately. https://www.globalcyclingnetwork.com...tinues-in-2023

I've been in this position myself. Company gets bought, company gets sold, etc. It's not a death blow - it's part of working in an industry that requires private equity ownership.

The firm involved with the Enve acquisition is described in some media as a family holding company. So, we may be dealing with someone who wants to own and not flip the business. If that's the case, then the parallel would be Moots' owner, Brent Whittington.

I don't know the financing arrangements for Moots. Moots sounds like Whittington may have put up all the capital himself - he was in a Fortune 500 company before this and he was well compensated, so maybe he did buy them outright with all his own money? IDK.

If you look at Amer’s earnings release, you’ll see that they are focused on direct to consumer led by a store roll out in outdoor apparel. It’s been obvious for a long time that Enve was non-strategic.

Time will tell, but a focused owner would usually be a step up from being lost in a large corporation.

Of course, I couldn’t care less. I’ve been buying Campy wheels lately and those new, made in SC Boyds look sweet!

No insight here other than what was released in the statement and some sense of the market:

My first take was that this is/was part of a succession plan or end event for one/some of the owners.

This must have been a tough year to launch model(s), outlay cash for the race team and then expect sales- which may never happen

Amazing brand- I love their bikes. I hope this is a hiccup or a positive force.

Isn't the history of hobby project acquisitions in the bicycle industry fairly poor? At first blush, it seems like an enthusiast is the ideal person to do a takeover, but maybe not.