Accell Group has filed for insolvency just months after U.S. private-equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) lost its equity investments following a $1.8 billion pandemic-era purchase of the Dutch company. The owner of bike brands, including Haibike, Winora, Ghost, Batavus, Koga, Lapierre, Raleigh, Sparta, Babboe, and Carqon, said it was no longer able to meet its obligations and its Dutch entities had been granted suspension of payments.
Accell also owns XLC, a manufacturer of bike parts and accessories.
The announcement follows four difficult years for the Amsterdam-based company and its buyout backer KKR since the New York firm led a consortium to take the company private for Є1.56 billion ($1.77 bn) in 2022.
The purchase was made amid a cycling boom spurred by the pandemic, feeding expectations of continued strong long-term fundamentals in sustainable mobility and increasing e-bike adoption across Europe. However, a global slowdown in demand for road bikes and e-bikes came, and cycling’s recovery has been exacerbated by pandemic-related supply chain challenges that led to elevated inventory levels.
Like many in the cycling industry, Accell’s inventories mushroomed as it over-ordered and over-produced in response to heightened pandemic demand, and the company had to offer significant discounts to move product and slash the value of its stock, hitting revenue and earnings.
KKR and another investor ultimately extended about €300 million in loans to support the company before a first restructuring deal was reached in February 2025; however, Accell continued to burn through cash, leading to a second restructuring earlier this year that saw KKR hand control to the lenders.
At the time, Accell said its major lenders agreed to a plan would reduce Accell’s debt and place it on more stable financial footing. In its statement, however, Accell said ownership by lenders “was not intended to be a long-term ownership structure” and it has since been unable to find another buyer.
In early July, reports arrived that the Singapore-based DuTech Group planned to acquire Accell, with antitrust competition authorities in Germany, Austria and Poland having approved the transaction; however, the deal fell througth.
Accell said in statement on Wednesday, August 5, “Accell and its advisers have explored every possible avenue for the Group’s future, including discussions with several interested parties, the consideration of multiple offers and seeking regulatory approval for a potential merger. Despite these extensive efforts, it has not been possible to reach a viable solution for Accell to continue operations in their current form. Having exhausted all the available options, the directors of the Group have concluded that it is no longer able to meet its financial obligations as they fall due and that initiating local insolvency proceedings of the relevant Group subsidiaries is the necessary next step.”
Suspension of payments is a temporary, court-ordered procedure designed to provide time for a company facing financial difficulties to restructure its debts and reorganize without the immediate threat of creditors seizing assets in a formal bankruptcy.
Jonas Nilsson, Accell’s CEO, said in a statement, “This is a deeply sad and frustrating situation given all the hard work and everything we have achieved, with the support of shareholders and lenders, to restructure Accell’s operations and finances. It is an especially difficult moment for our employees, creditors, customers, suppliers, and partners. Every realistic option for the future of the business has been tirelessly explored, and none have resulted in a solution to continue the Group in its current form. Our immediate focus is to support an orderly process, provide clarity wherever possible, and work with the relevant court-appointed administrators to preserve viable activities and employment where circumstances allow.”
Image courtesy Accell Group
