Brunswick Corp. signed an agreement to acquire Indoor Cycling Group (ICG), which specializes in the design of indoor cycling equipment.
ICG is based in Nuremburg, Germany.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. ICG’s 2015 revenues were approximately €37 million ($41 million), and the transaction is subject to usual and customary closing conditions as well as approval by the German competition authority, anticipated sometime late in the third quarter. At that time, ICG would become part of Life Fitness’ global operations.
“Our vision is to build and augment our product and technology portfolio to establish a strong leadership position in the global group exercise market,” explained Brunswick Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mark D. Schwabero. “Group exercise is a growing sector of fitness and represents another important adjacency that we have targeted to expand our fitness business.
“Blending ICG’s integrated technology and programming capabilities in the indoor cycling space, with our broader Life Fitness product assortment, is an important component of our strategy to grow our fitness business and, consequently, Brunswick. Additionally, we believe that Life Fitness’ strong product development and distribution capabilities will further advance ICG’s position within the group exercise and indoor cycling markets,” Schwabero said.
“Our stated goal is to double the size of our Fitness operations by 2020, and we are pursuing that goal with a growing stable of prominent brands, including Life Fitness, Hammer Strength, Cybex and Scifit. Through the integration of additional leading brands – such as ICG’s Tomahawk into our product portfolio, we are building and strengthening our position in several market segments,” Schwabero added.
“ICG will provide a cornerstone from which we plan to expand our presence in group exercise,” echoed Life Fitness President Chris Clawson. “We’re eager to join it with our existing group exercise products such as Life Fitness Synrgy360, Row GX Trainer and the Hammer Strength rigs and racks to provide a robust product portfolio for our global customers.”
Clawson said the ICG management team, staff and operations will remain largely intact and under the direction of founder and current Chief Executive Officer Bernd Puerschel, who will report to Clawson.
ICG was founded in 1995. Among other attributes, ICG products are particularly recognized for their aesthetics, design and integrated technologies, Clawson added. ICG has exclusive rights to key technologies such as the Wattrate Power Meter, one of the most accurate and robust power meters in the fitness market. It also includes “Coach By Color,” a highly effective and motivational system in which the range of color covers the physiological responses to the different types of training required to meet the demands of group-fitness-based cycling. Such technologies and capabilities, Clawson pointed out, provide ICG with a sustainable competitive advantage supporting the strongest product portfolio within the group exercise cycling category.
“As the supplier of Life Fitness’ existing group cycling bike, we have had a strong relationship with ICG for the past five years. Through this relationship we know that ICG’s culture of innovation and its customer-focused approach are a great fit for our team. We look forward to having ICG join the Life Fitness family,” Clawson concluded.
Officials said ICG will have minimal impact upon Brunswick’s 2016 results.
Photo Courtesy Indoor Cycling Group
