Dorel Industries, the parent company of Cannondale, has acquired a majority share of Cannondale Pro Cycling and its management company Brixia Sports. The Canadian company’s move appears to have secured the immediate future of the green team, which includes such stars as Peter Sagan, Moreno Moser, Elia Viviani and Ivan Basso, despite the current lack of a co-sponsor to replace Liquigas, which pulled out at the end of 2012.
Significantly, the move also sees an end to the team’s negotiations with Russian businessman Oleg Tinkoff, whose company - Tinkoff Bank - seemed set to join the team as co-sponsor after having fallen out with Team Saxo Bank.
“This further investment underlines our respect and the value for the accomplishments of the Cannondale team and recognises the many benefits this association has brought to the Cannondale brand,” stated Dorel President and CEO, Martin Schwartz. “Additionally, it comes on the heels of our acquisition of the Caloi brand in Brazil and our intention to market Cannondale throughout Latin America.”
The Cannondale Pro Cycling team began in 2005, as the Italian bottled gas company returned to the sport, with Bianchi providing the bikes. The team switched to Cannondale in 2007, and became Liquigas-Cannondale in 2011 as the American bike company stepped up its sponsorship.
When Liquigas pulled out at the end of last year, the decision was taken by Cannondale to continue to support the team as sole sponsor; keeping the team’s distinctive bright green livery.
“2013 has been an amazing year for Cannondale Pro Cycling athletes and for the awareness of the Cannondale brand,” said Bob Baird, CEO, Cannondale Sports Unlimited. “We’re looking forward to this next step with the team. We’re passionate about pro cycling and furthering the sport with integrity and have a vision of building the most admired pro cycling team in the peloton.
“We’re confident the team will be extremely competitive in races all over the world and will continue to create unparalleled awareness for the Cannondale brand,” Baird added. “We have seen an increase in our market share of Cannondale since beginning this association and expect this to continue.”
As well as Cannondale, and the newly acquired Caloi, Dorel Industries also owns bike makers GT, Schwinn and Mongoose, as well as Sugoi clothing, which outfits the ProTeam. It is also the distributor of several major brands of juvenile and baby equipment brands, as well as one of North America’s biggest manufacturers and marketers of furniture.