At the beginning of October, it was announced that Pon Holdings (with brands such as Focus, Santa Cruz, Cervélo and BBB) was taking over the Dorel Sports Group, which includes well-known bike brands such as Cannondale, GT, Schwinn and Caloi. The Pon Group, based in the Netherlands, bought Dorel's bicycle division for 810 million US dollars, making it an even more powerful player in the bicycle industry. Following the failed takeover of the Accell Group (including Ghost, Haibike and Lapierre) in 2017, this time it worked out for Pon Holdings. Following the entry of investors in Canyon and YT Industries In the recent past, the merger of the bicycle divisions of Pon and Dorel is certainly one of the largest takeovers in the bicycle industry and shows that investors see the bicycle industry as a promising growth market.
New Cannondale plants in the Netherlands and Georgia (USA)
Only a few days after the takeover was announced, the Cannondalethe most successful and largest bicycle brand in the global Dorel Sports Group, has announced the opening of two new assembly plants. The new plant in the Netherlands in Almelo - just 30 kilometres from the German border - was opened in September. Cannondale intends to triple its production capacity for bikes in Europe. Cannondale sees the second modern assembly plant in Rincon in the US state of Georgia as a return to its American roots. The aim is to supply the growing American market with more bikes. In addition, US dealers will have to invest 30-50 per cent less time in final assembly. A higher stock level at the two new locations should also guarantee better delivery capability.
A total of 500,000 bikes, which can be produced in both factories, should boost the company's global growth. At the same time, Peter Woods, CEO and President of Cannondale's parent company Dorel Sports, describes the two new plants as "one of the biggest investments in Cannondale's history". Santa Cruz and Cervélo are also jointly upgrading in Europe. The European headquarters of the two high-end brands is currently being built in Mainz, where a large assembly plant is also due to go into operation soon and produce bikes for the European market.
