International
CINCINNATI (BRAIN) — Steadyrack of Perth Australia has named Epic International as its U.S. retail sales and marketing agent for its Steadyrack bike storage products.
SPEARFISH, S.D. (BRAIN) — SRAM has taken over a Kickstarter-supported project to manufacture an electronic suspension control device developed by a Perth, Australia company, Dusty Dynamics.
BIEL, Switzerland (BRAIN) — DT Swiss AG has added a new building at its facility in Poland to increase production capacity and after-sales service.
TEMECULA, Calif. (BRAIN) — Intense Cycles has launched a new European division in Barcelona, Spain, that will house inventory and service supporting the majority of the continent. The Southern California-based mountain bike brand will continue to work with distributors in select European territories.
VALLEJO, Calif. (BRAIN) — Wren Sports, LLC has appointed Llevant Carbon Fatbikes as its New Zealand distributor and authorized service center. Llevant is also using Wren's suspension forks on its fat bikes.
STOCKHOLM (BRAIN) — Thule Group has acquired the Dutch company GMG B.V., a child bike seat brand that sells in the Benelux market.
GMG B.V. had sales of 6.1 million euros ($6.8 million) in 2015, mostly under the brand Yepp.
ANTWERP, Belgium (BRAIN) — Shimano Europe has agreed to acquire Lazer Sport NV, the Belgian helmet brand.
The companies agreed to the deal on Thursday. After clearance from authorities, the acquisition is expected to close in the second half of this year, Shimano said.
NEVERS, France (BRAIN) — Activa Capital, a mid-market private equity firm, has taken a majority stake in Look Cycle, alongside the brand's existing owners, Dominique Bergin and Thierry Fournier.
LONDON (BRAIN) — UK antitrust authorities have approved the proposed merger of Wiggle and Chain Reaction Cycles, and the two companies are expected to complete the merger soon.
The UK Competition and Markets Authority approved the proposed merger on Thursday.
IRVINE, Calif. (BRAIN) — BikeExchange, an online marketplace based in Australia and recently expanding internationally, has become a co-title sponsor of the newly named Orica-BikeExchange team, previously known as Orica-GreenEdge.
MADRID (BRAIN) — Rotor Bike Components has named Gin Huat Cycle Trading as its distributor in Malaysia and Singapore. Established in 1985, Gin Huat is the official distributor of cycling brands including Fuji, Intense, Fox, Maxxis, CatEye and others.
PAAL-BERINGEN, Belgium (BRAIN) — FE Sports of Brisbane, Australia has established Ridley Australasia, the official sales, distribution and finishing partner of Ridley Bikes in Australia and New Zealand. FE Sports will both distribute and paint Ridley Bikes in Australia for the two markets.
HELSINKI (BRAIN) — Amer Sports has hired Sebastian Lund as its new chief HR officer and member of the company's executive board. Lund, who joins Amer Sports after a 20-year career at Procter & Gamble in the United States and Europe, replaces Terhi Heikkinen, who is leaving the company at the end of August.
SAUSALITO, Calif. (BRAIN) — OutsidePR has made two new additions to its team. Harry Benyon will be joining as an account manager, coming from London, England, where he gained experience working for brands in the European outdoor industry.
SANDY, Utah (BRAIN) — Reynolds Cycling has promoted Travis Erwin, its current European general manager, to director of global sales. Erwin, who has been based in the Netherlands, will relocate to Reynolds headquarters near Salt Lake City for the role.
BREMBATE, Italy (BRAIN) — Italty's 3T Cycling Srl will acquire THM Carbones GmbH, a high-end carbon components brand based in Germany. The companies said the acquisition will be completed in August.
LONDON (BRAIN) — Unior Bike Tools is now the official partner of four UCI WorldTour teams: Etixx-Quick Step, Movistar, Trek– Segafredo and, now, Team Sky. Mechanics from these teams use Unior tools and are involved in the development of new and improved products.
ESTAVAYER-LE-LAC, Switzerland (BRAIN) — The pro road racers' association said it will have to see some changes to disc road brakes before it would agree to further testing of the brakes in the pro peloton.
STOCKHOLM (BRAIN) — POC has extended its sponsorship of Scottish mountain biker Danny MacAskill by another three years, through 2019.
POC has been working with MacAskill since 2009.
VALLEJO, Calif. (BRAIN) — Wren Sports, LLC has appointed Cranknuts as its European fork distributor and service center.