Accell Group searching for new Chairman to guide latest strategy change
Accell Group announced today that it has initiated a search for a new Chairman to guide the change process resulting from the company’s new strategy.
The group’s strategic and financial update for 2018, released last month, saw the company focus on its core European business while running the US side as a separate and “non-core” pursuit.
The “core” business saw a growth of 1% from November 2017 to November this year, totalling 6% YTD. The business’ earnings before interest (EBIT) is estimated to be around €51 million, which includes a €7 million higher expenditure compared to the previous year. However, the Group EBIT performance for the full year including US activities and extraordinary expenses will be around €31 million.
A review of the US business is currently being conducted over the next six to nine months, while Accell Group explores possible future options for the entity, one of the possibilities being a sale.
At the time, Accell Group CEO Ton Anbeek, said of the decision: “We can see that for our core business we are effective in the majority of the markets where we operate, resulting in growth and good margins. While considering future options for the US will require our attention, we expect these measures to free up management time, allowing us to focus more on the further execution of our growth strategy. looking at the underlying results of the company, we are confident that we are taking the right steps.”
In a time of change and somewhat uncertainty for Accell, Pon Holdings, owner of Cervelo, Santa Cruz, Gazelle, Derby Cycle and others, is back in pursuit of Accell Group, with a new partial tender offer for “an important minority stake” in the Group.
Accell Group’s “fundamental different situation compared to last year” (as Pon Holdings puts it) has given Pon chance to pursue a partial tender offer. It intends to acquire an important minority stake in Accell Group and Pon aims and expects to develop, as a long-term shareholder, “constructive relationships with Accell Group’s management, supervisory board and shareholders.”
The current chairman, Ab Pasman, will remain a member of the Board for one more year, and following the appointment of his successor the Supervisory Board will consist of largely new members.
