Wiggle wants to buy Bike24 in £100m+ deal

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Oct 23, 2017

WiggleCRC looks set to take over its German peer Bike24 in a deal reported to be worth more than £100 million.
Wiggle, run by ex-White Company CEO Will Kernan, is a bikes-to-clothing-and-accessories specialist and is believed to be in advanced talks with Bike24.

That news comes just a year after it acquired Northern Ireland-based company Chain Reaction Cycles, a purchase that saw Wiggle adding the CRC to its name.

The company, which is controlled by private equity firm Bridgepoint, is on a roll at present with sales reaching £283 million last year, although underlying earnings were only £7 million due to costs linked to the CRC buy. Bike24 would add sales of over €85 million and would not cannibalise the firm’s existing business as most of its sales are sourced in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, The Sunday Times reported.

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In fact, such a deal would give Wiggle major exposure to the European market and make it a global market-leader in online sales. That’s an important status if the company ever does get to the point of an IPO as has been rumoured for at least half a decade. Bridgepoint had looked at a potential listing three years ago but opted instead to expand through acquisition.