BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
The Dutch retail powerhouse is selling to Ron Te Riele, the current business unit director, and financial manager, E. De Geus. There’s also an umnamed "strong informal investor as a third party."
The transaction date for the management buy out is 20th August 2004 and will be backdated to 1st January 2004.
Euretco Tweewielers’ 40 employees will move to the new company. But not far, Biretco is to hire office premises at Euretco B.V.’s new Breda HQ.
"Biretco and Euretco will continue to intensively work together," said a statement from Euretco B.V.
Peter Sturms, director at Euretco, said the sale of the two-wheeler division fits EuretcoÂ’s long-term strategy:
“Euretco wants to spend the next few years concentrating on the fashion, sports and living sectors. We have been involved with negotiations regarding Euretco Tweewielers for some months now, within the framework of the strategic reorientation. These are now complete and have led to a preliminary agreement, which obviously still has to pass various milestones, including the board of directors and the joint works council."
Ron te Riele said: “The liberation is a logical consequence of the enormous growth the company has enjoyed during the past ten years. If we want to continue this growth on an international level, then this has to happen from an independent and dynamic foundation. With the current successful management team, together with the new informal investor, all ingredients are present to further expand the market position in Europe."
Biretco will inherit the membership of 750 bicycle stores from the Benelux countries and Germany. A push in to the UK last year was aborted in order to concentrate on expansion in Germany.
