Canyon bikes acquired by Belgian investor 

Canyon bikes has been acquired by a Belgian investor, as the company tries to continue its rapid growth.  

The German bike brand now has a new majority shareholder in the form of Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL), a Belgian holding company that also holds shares in clothing brands Adidas and Burberry. 

Canyon, sponsor of multiple cycling teams including Canyon-SRAM, Movistar and Canyon-DHB in the UK, has grown massively in recent years and has been seeking further investment to continue expanding.

As a result, minority shareholder TSG will be parting ways with Canyon.

Founder of Canyon, Roman Arnold, said: “I am very pleased about the partnership with GBL who have impressed me and my team with their passion for our business, their extensive experience and their long term orientation. At this juncture, I would also like to emphasise the important role TSG has played in our growth journey so far. Canyon remains on a strong trajectory and I am excited at executing on the future growth levers with GBL and the whole Canyon team to further expand our position as one of the world’s leading bicycle companies.” 

The brand was founded in 2002 and in 2019/2020 reported a turnover of €400 million (£361 million), having doubled its sales in the last three years. 

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CEO of GBL, Ian Gallienne, said: “Canyon is a fast-growing premium brand with an excellent track record, strong team and great potential. Canyon is very complementary to GBL’s existing portfolio, increasing our exposure to secular trends such as sustainable mobility, health awareness and digitalizsation. We are thrilled to become partners with Roman Arnold and the whole Canyon team as they take Canyon’s success story to the next level.” 

Arnold will remain chairman of the advisory board and will reinvest a large part of his proceeds, according to GBl. 

The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2021.