Mergers, Acquisitions & Investments
SEYMOUR, CT (BRAIN)—The Thule Group has acquired TracRac Inc., a U.S. manufacturer of transport solutions for professional use.
SCHAFFHAUSEN, Switzerland (BRAIN)—Garmin has acquired MetriGear, the creator of a pedal-based power solution for cycling, as a new component of its growing fitness division.
FRYEBERG, ME (BRAIN)—Longtime employee Jeff Cavicchi is now a minority owner of Downeast Bicycle Specialists, the Northeast’s oldest wholesale distributor. Doug Moore remains the majority owner, and will continue in his position as president at the company’s Fryeburg, Maine facility.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI (BRAIN)—Industry retail veteran Patrick "P.J." McDonald has joined Michigan-based Slingshot Bicycle Company as its new majority partner.

LEOMINSTER, MA (BRAIN)—Northern California-based The Hive, known for its cranksets and hubs, has bought E.Thirteen, which was owned by suspension guru Dave Weagle. The Massachusetts-based company is best known for its chain retention systems.
SANTA CLARITA, CA (BRAIN)—Corsair Bikes have new owners as Mike Flaherty and Froggy Khu of Atomlab, along with Pablo Tafoya—the designer of Corsair frames—have purchased the company from original founder and industry veteran Doug Stuart.
SANTA CRUZ, CA (BRAIN)—Santa Cruz Bicycles has purchased Swobo outright, buying out Tim Parr’s minority interest in the company.

POZZOLEONE, Italy (BRAIN)—Selle Royal S.p.A. has signed a binding agreement to purchase a majority interest in Justek, the largest bicycle saddle manufacturer in China.
SAN DIEGO, CA (BRAIN)—Zoic Clothing's Eric Swenson and Paul Wyandt have bought the company from Nitches, Inc. a publicly traded apparel company.
Both Swenson and Wyandt have been working at Zoic/Nitches for more than 10 years.
HEERENVEEN, the Netherlands (BRAIN)—Accell Group N.V. has acquired Bäumker & Co, a German trading company of bikes and parts and accessories that also distributes Batavus, a brand owned by Accell.
BEAVERTON, OR (BRAIN)—Yakima has tied its future to a Taiwan company that—among many other items—makes water filtration products and water coolers for Whirlpool. It seems an unlikely merger, but Kemflo International also makes parts for Yakima’s racks, and has for the last nine years.
BEAVERTON, OR (BRAIN)—Yakima, one of the industry’s best known rack companies, has “merged” its operations with a privately held Taiwan company that has been supplying it with parts for the last nine years.
PHILADELPHIA, PA (BRAIN)—Advanced Sports has purchased the Oval Concepts brand, trademarks and tooling and has entered into a license agreement for its patented JetStream and SCCS technology.