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Aston Martin backer reportedly makes £200m bid for Rapha

Italy's Investindustrial said to be on shortlist to by upscale clothing business - as is the firm behind WeightWatchers...

An Italian private equity firm that owns 37.5 per cent of luxury car marque Aston Martin has made a £200 million bid to buy upmarket cycle clothing firm Rapha, reports Sky News.

Investindustrial, which acquired its shareholding in Aston Martin in 2012, is said to have been joined on the final shortlist of bidders by investment group Invus, which has previously backed businesses including Weight Watchers.

There may also be other parties in line to make a successful bid that have not being identified yet, according to Sky News sources.

The latest development comes less than three weeks after the broadcaster said that private equity houses TPG and Advent International were among the front runners to buy Rapha, although now it reports that they have pulled out of the process.

> Rapha reportedly set to be sold for nearly £150 million

Some potential purchasers are said to have been put off by the price tag, which could be as much as 20 times Rapha's annual profits on a business with turnover in its latest financial year of £63 million.

Sales in the year to January 2017 were reported to be £63 million, a 30 per cent increase on the previous year, while turnover growth since then is believed to be 40 per cent.

Sky News says that according to people close to the process, a deal could be completed within a fortnight.

Founded in 2004, Rapha appointed US-based investment bank William Blair to advise it on a potential sale in April this year.

Rumours that shareholders in the north-London owned business, co-founded by former branding consultant Simon Mottram, were looking for an exit had been circulating since late last year.

Investindustria's past investments include Ducati, Karrimor, Mountain Warehouse and ... here's one to make cycling fans nostalgic  ... Euskaltel.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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8 comments

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BarryBianchi | 7 years ago
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Aston is nothing more that a wide boys marque now, for the reasons set out above, along with Jaguar.  Expensive Mondeos. I used to drive a DB7 and loved it; wouldn't be seen dead in one now. 

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jimbo2112 | 7 years ago
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£200m is pin money based on a company with material assets (excuse the pun) when you consider the billions paid for online companies like Snapchat, Instagram etc.

I think Rapha would do well to sponsor another world tour team as their new owners will want the visibility. How about some Astons as TdF cars?!

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Leviathan | 7 years ago
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I really don't see the attraction of an Aston Martin. It might be all leather seats with a powerful engine, but the front end has a trout pout; and since Ford took over they put the same grill on everything. It is nothing more than a supped up Mondeo.

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madcarew replied to Leviathan | 7 years ago
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Leviathan wrote:

I really don't see the attraction of an Aston Martin. It might be all leather seats with a powerful engine, but the front end has a trout pout; and since Ford took over they put the same grill on everything. It is nothing more than a supped up Mondeo.

I've driven a number of luxury cars including Aston, Maserati, Ferrari, Porsche, and Bentley Continental and haven't driven but have ridden in a couple of other Bentleys and a Rolls. The only 2 that I got in and thought I would spend lottery money on were the Aston Vantage and a bespoke Range Rover. The Vantage just made you feel a million dollars (IMO). The Rangey was simply imperious

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SNS1938 | 7 years ago
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That is crazy money for a company that must be 90% goodwill associated with the brand, and 10% hard assests. 

So often when a business like this sells, the new owners then try to increase sales and prices in order to make back some money on their crazy high purchase price. 1) As soon as you start selling rapha on ChainReactionCycles, it will lose some of the coolness, and 2) Rapha prices are already eyewateringly high ... 

 

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Nick T | 7 years ago
1 like

Looks like we've found ourselves an XL Rapha buyer

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reliablemeatloaf | 7 years ago
1 like

Who cares?

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Johnnystorm | 7 years ago
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Karrimor eh? Now part of the Sports Direct empire. Ugh.

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