KKR and Accell Group deal in limbo as share sale threshold not met

Friday marked the deadline for shareholders in the Accell Group to put up their holdings up for sale as part of the proposed KKR buyout and the resulting offer has now been confirmed to have fallen short of the required threshold for the deal to progress.

KKR and its buyer consortium wished to see an 80% threshold met in order to push ahead with the acquisition, a figure that already came up well short of the customary 95%. A release from the Accell Group has since announced that just 73.53% of shares were secured from investors by the deadline, leaving the deal in limbo.

“the Offeror (KKR) will consider its options and inform the market in due course in accordance with Section 16, Paragraph 1 of the Decree and Section 3.7 of the Offer Memorandum, no later than on 9 June 2022,” wrote the statement on the cycling group’s announcements page.

It has been reported that there are some major shareholders digging in for a higher bid than the offer price of €58 per share. Dutch news outlet Het Financieele Dagblad reports that it is French investor Moneta Asset Management holding out for a higher offer, believing the Accell Group business to have a bright future in the context of mobility developments around the world and the group’s strong position in manufacturing of things like electric bikes.

The bid figure, had it been accepted, would amount to €1.6 billion paid for the parent company to Raleigh UK, plus brands including Babboe, Batavus, Lapierre, Haibike and many more.

Had KKR’s ambition to takeover the Accell Group not hit bumps in the road the business was set to be taken private. A decision on how to proceed is now to be expected by Thursday.