Time Sport frame factory and IP sold on by Rossignol
Time Sport has once again been sold on with the Rossignol Group accepting terms with American founder of Allied Cycle Works Tony Karklins and French engineer Martial Trigeaud who form the Cardinal Cycling Group.
The sale to the Cardinal Cycling Group, to which Karklins is a partner, includes the intellectual property of Time Sport, the carbon frame factory used to make the products, the trademark licenses, but not the firm’s pedal and cycling footwear business which Rossignol has opted to keep hold of.
The press statement says that the Cardinal Cycling Group is a French-American investment firm whose speciality is the management of cycling businesses.
The Time Sport label was taken on by Rossignol only in 2016 and the firm last year made it clear the business was up for grabs; a proposed deal with French start up WhaTTfornow fell through after a capital raise to fund the deal fell short.
Karklins, once the US managing director of Orbea, as well as a retail store manager also leads US-based bike maker Allied Cycle Works, a label that has begun to seek out export partners, as well a develop a direct to consumer arm.
American trade portal BR&IN has co-owner Martial Trigeaud as saying: “Having grown up in France, cycling has always been part of my life. I have always had a strong passion for Time because this brand, through its history, is a legacy of French cycling heritage throughout the world. I am honored to become its ambassador and to shape its future.”
Trigeaud’s history in the cycling business is not as broad as Karklins, though he was a semi-professional cyclist in France prior to pursuing a career in business consultancy, as well as some time as an adjunct professor at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock.
The transaction marks the latest in a recent string of large scale investments from both inside and outside of the industry. The coming edition of CyclingIndustry.News’ Trade Journal will analyse the startling speed to which a “wall of money” is being invested into the trade.
