Slovenian Elan d.o.o. has recently seen success in it’s bike building endeavours despite being more well known for its production of skis and yachts. The company has just been taken over by Leader 96, the Bulgarian bike manufacturer under a new owner, KIK Capital Oy, an investment company from Sweden. This has led to speculation as to whether or not we will see the resurrection of Elan Bikes.
Recent reports in the media confirm that AVK, the Slovenian competition regulator, has already approved the 100% takeover which will be funded by a €250million Private Equity Fund, KJK Fund III. No further information has been forthcoming regarding the cost of purchasing Elan Bikes.
A 75 year history
The production of Elan bikes stopped in 2005. Prior to this there was a 75 year history of bike production. As well as supplying winter sports products and yachts, the Slovenia-based company also supplies stadiums with technical solutions and has a role in the supply of components for renewable energy companies.
KJK Sports
Alongside the takeover of Elan, KJK Capital has also created a holding company; KJK Sports. Along with Elan, KJK Sports now counts the Estonian water sports provider Tahe Outdoors and the Bulgarian bicycle manufacturer Leader 96 as subsidiaries. Leader 96, founded in 1996 serves large retailers and KJK bought a 60% stake in the company back in August 2016, funded through the KJK Fund II. The Bulgarian bike makers now markets the Leader, Speed and Oryx e-bike brands.
Panther and Jaguar
Since its launch in 1996, Leader 96 has created a yearly bike production capacity of around 400,000 units across 2 facilities and employs 550 workers. It has an extensive range including fitness bikes, city, road and mountain bikes, children’s bikes and e-bikes. At the present time over 95% of the production is exported to countries within the EU such as Holland, Italy, and Germany, among others. In 2017 Leader 96 took over the German Panther and Jaguar bike brands from Panther International GmbH.
Strategically expanding sports portfolio
KJK acquired its a 50% share in Tahe Outdoors back in December 2018, though the private equity KJK Fund III. Along with the more recent takeover of Elan, the Finnish company is expanding their portfolio. The press reports that Jeffrey Tirman, the current CEO of Elan, along with his management team, are staying with the company and that he will also become CEO of KJK Sports.
According to KJK founder and senior partner Kustaa Äimä the purchase of Elan is key to building the kind of sporting goods organisations that can help people lead an active, outdoor life all year around.
