Amer Sports Sells ENVE to Utah-Based Private Investment Firm

Apr 30, 2024 at 9:29
by Sarah Moore  
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Amer Sports, parent company to ENVE Composites, has announced that they have sold ENVE to PV3, a Utah-based private investment firm.

bigquotesENVE has gone through major changes in the past years. The brand has positive momentum, and we see that it has good potential. However, after a thorough strategic evaluation, we have concluded that the next phase of developments should happen under new ownership. We believe PV3 is the most suitable owner for ENVE to realize and drive its next growth phase.—Amer Sports’ Chief Operating Officer Michael Hauge Sørensen

ENVE Composites was founded in 2007 as Edge Composites, changing its name to ENVE Composites in 2010. It is one of a small number of cycling brands to manufacture wheels, components, and bikes in the United States. Amer Sports acquired ENVE in 2016 for $50 million.

In 2016, ENVE moved into its Ogden, Utah based headquarters. The 80,000 square foot building houses engineering, R&D, manufacturing, sales, marketing, customer service, and finance functions.

PV3 is the family holding company of Mark Hancock, a cycling enthusiast. He says they are dedicated to maintaining ENVE’s heritage as a Utah-based manufacturer and leader in composites technology.

bigquotesWe have confidence in the direction ENVE’s management team are taking the company and we want to continue building the brand’s legacy as a performance leader and U.S. manufacturer, while providing the necessary support for continued growth. This is an opportunity to take ENVE to the next level through local Utah ownership. While the current bicycle market is challenging, ENVE is growing based on our product innovation and professional team partnerships.—Mark Hancock, Principal of PV3.ENVE’s General Manager Mike Stimola

ENVE's General Manager Mike Stimola was brought on by Amer Sports in January 2023 and the news release says that will continue in his current role and ENVE’s operations will continue as normal. Closing is expected to take place in the next few weeks and the parties will not be disclosing the transaction details.

Steve Frothingham has an interview with ENVE GM up now on Bicycle Retailer.

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166 Comments
  • 144 6
 "PV3 is the family holding company of Mark Hancock, a cycling enthusiast. He says they are dedicated to maintaining ENVE’s heritage as a Utah-based manufacturer and leader in composites technology."

Does this not sound like a good thing? I absolutely get the corporate skepticism, but I have to imagine this is a good outcome, considering the alternatives.
  • 86 1
 I mean, they guy will be able to buy nice bikes and ride either way. It all depends on if he likes money or owning a bike company more.
  • 85 2
 At city planning meetings, whenever anyone is going to get up and talk about how terrible bike lanes and cyclists are, they always start by saying, "As a cyclist..." Similarly, color me suspicious of any new exec who claims to be "just like you." Sometimes in buyouts like Enve, you get lucky and it's the Waltons buying out Rapha and being willing to operate at a loss for decades to grow the brand. But more often you get self-described "cinephile" David Zaslov buying out Warner Bros with debt and cutting staff and projects left and right as the new CEO.
  • 75 18
 Private equity will always demand returns that beat the market on a quarterly basis, that is their only goal. They do that no matter what the cost (QA, service). Its a smooth brain, greed driven industry. ENVE is dead
  • 42 6
 @mariomtblt: if I’m to believe the pinbike cognoscenti, enve has been dead for years. Massively overpriced product with huge failure rate.
  • 28 4
 "Crewe Capital, a boutique investment bank" ..... this right here is about all you need to know. A BOUTIQUE investment bank. F right off.
  • 28 13
 Mark Hancock is the CFO of a fairly large healthcare organization, and he apparently rides bikes as a hobby. This isn't a guy with a cycling background who knows the products and industry inside and out. Pretty safe bet that he's gonna gut Enve and then sell off the carcass in a few years.
  • 7 0
 It can cut 2 ways: 1. it's a great piece of positioning fluff to try and quell any concerns, 2. the company is the plaything for a rich owner, at least until he realizes you can buy a lot of product for less than it costs to run the manufacturing company.

It's not unheard of but you need big, f-you money to run at a major loss for a long time just because you want to live IN the lifestyle without having to actually live the lifestyle.

Best case seems to be someone like WAO. They seem to be doing really well, and hopefully don't destroy it all with a PE buy-out in the near future.
  • 45 1
 This is exactly what happened to Guerrilla Gravity. A private investor that was just some rich guy that enjoyed biking came on. That was 4 years ago. Now they don't exist. So I would say it's not necessarily a good thing.
  • 14 0
 @yuhbruhsaidwhat: Exactly! Private Equity firms value ROI more than the thought of being in a lifestyle company.
  • 6 6
 @toast2266: well he sells the fireworks to kids that put them up a bullfrogs butt then blam bullfrog ends up in the vets office. Win both ways Kicking wing.
  • 9 1
 @TEAM-ROBOT: did you see the news that they are closing the Rapha Bentonville store? Even the Waltons know when shit stinks.
  • 15 0
 @rivercitycycles: Its worse than that, they value QUARTERLY ROI, so forget a long term project that will return greatly, its about sucking money from brands NOW.
  • 13 5
 Our company was bought by a PE firm owned by a "Cyclist" He rode his bike in to work today, and it was probably 12+ years old. I'm not saying he's not a cyclist, but it seems suspect.
  • 22 1
 @mariomtblt: I totally agree. I work for an industry leading firm that is owned by a PE. We’re required to do monthly performance reports. It took me 15 months to justify buying a new $1.7 million laser welder. Multiple presentations to the BOD’s, check and recheck ROI numbers. It was more exhausting then all my years of hill climbing.
  • 7 22
flag HB208 (Apr 30, 2024 at 12:21) (Below Threshold)
 @rivercitycycles: Lol your argument is that the parent wanted to do due diligence before spending $1.7M is a bad thing?
  • 18 1
 @HB208: 15 months of due diligence seems like a lot of due diligence, no?
  • 4 11
flag HB208 (Apr 30, 2024 at 12:35) (Below Threshold)
 @TEAM-ROBOT: It depends on how large of a purchase it is. I am a consultant and a company I was working on overspent on fixed assets and it really hurt them.
  • 5 1
 FWIW, replicating carbon fiber technology is *ridiculously* difficult. This may play a part. Not to contradict other comments.

source: am carbon technician
  • 2 0
 Maybe producing a set of sick $1,200 Carbon Hiking Sticks can save them? And then they could do a cobranding with REI group hiking events at every major trailhead this year.
  • 17 0
 @HB208: not at all 15 months and multiple presentations is corporate gymnastics is what’s excessive. All the while, losing money because you had to outsource that process because our current laser welder couldn’t keep up with demand. We lost a lot of $$$ and opportunity by dragging out that justification process.
  • 18 9
 @HSLD: I have a 2013 trance...with about 3 or 4 original parts on it. But I bet I could beat you down the trail...and I wouldn't judge you for it...or your newer bike. I even worked in bike shops for 17 years until 2020. If he rode his bike into work, I'd say he is a cyclist. Being a cyclist really has nothing to do with your bike....all you have to do is visit a 3rd world country to figure that out....or just not be pretentious and go ride your own bike more, rather than judging those who do.
I would say its a sign he is good with his money more than anything...so hopefully that works out for his companyand you.
  • 7 0
 @rivercitycycles: classic, its ironic that these pushes to save money almost always end up costing more. Its almost like being stupid is a requirement for executive managers
  • 23 2
 Dig a little deeper. Mark Hancock is the founder of a company that IPO'd about 3 weeks ago and his current net worth based on that transaction is $1.6B. My speculation is that he simply wanted to own a cool Utah based cycling company and has enough money now to make it a reality.

Net is that this should be a very good thing for Enve. New owner that is passionate about cycling buying a brand that he is passionate about. Even if Enve loses $5M per year it is a rounding error at this level of wealth. To see a similar model look to Allied and the Walton family.
  • 33 1
 Ex-Amer subsidiary employee here. This is a good thing, if for no other reason than they aren't owned by Amer anymore, which in turn is owned by the Anta conglomerate. Anta is interested in growing adventure apparel and seasonal gear (e.g. skiing) brands globally but notably across Asia. Hardware companies like Enve will never have those velocities, those margins, and year after year of looking at results and seeing your otherwise-solid hardware or equipment company be the 'dog' of the corporate report gets really fkn old. Look at the commensurate expansion that Amer/Anta is putting into Arcteryx.

"Amer Sports has experienced success with its portfolio brands in the Greater China region, with Arc’teryx and Salomon leading the way. In the nine months to September 30, 2023, Amer Sports reported a striking 67.6 percent increase in revenue from the Greater China region, totaling $593 million, up from $353.8 million the previous year. Salomon’s revenue in Greater China hit $91.2 million between January and September 2023, a 63 percent YoY rise." (data from March 2024).

If Hancock runs Enve as a reasonable business, expecting reasonable margins, and supports its people, that's the best case scenario.
  • 7 0
 @toast2266: he is not the CFO, he is the executive chairman and founder. He currently owns 64M shares of the company at a current stock price of $25/share.

This not someone who is "rich" and has an extra $10M laying around like GG. This is someone who just attained generational wealth and had a liquidity event in early April.
  • 13 1
 @twozerosix: Amer are a cancer. Solomon, Arcteryx and Suunto were great brands until they got involved and sucked the life out of them with poorer quality and targeting ever increasing ROI. After fifteen years of using them in the outdoors I sacked them all off a few years ago after so many products failed to live up to their predecessors, including Suunto's decision to kill off a piece of software architecture critical to a watch I'd bought that was less than two years old at the time.
  • 6 1
 Reading the articles over on Bicycle Retailer, which include an interview with Enve's GM, it does sound pretty good. I wish them all the best.
  • 1 0
 @cloverleaf: no arguments from me there.
  • 2 0
 @TinuKu: If Enve's GM gave an interview that made this sounds terrible, it's a safe bet he'd be out of a job.
  • 6 0
 Talk to Indy Fab about their experience with super wealthy corporate cycles g enthusiast ownership…
  • 1 0
 @TEAM-ROBOT: it’s a contractual term that might reflect a few different priorities beyond the pure DD. It’s a way of potentially keeping the contract on foot while other developments play out.
  • 5 0
 A quick search on Strava and I found a guy named Mark Hancock in Utah. Private account, but his profile picture looks like a fit CEO type (my CEO is the chubby type), standing next to a nice Trek road bike. So, maybe an actual cyclist? Maybe good news?

That said, I'm a cynic with anything corporate (working for one of the largest corporations in the world doesn't help). I won a gift certificate at True Grit for some Enve stuff, I'm going to cash that in ASAP.
  • 2 0
 @twozerosix: very well said.
  • 1 0
 Last I heard that a company died xD
  • 2 0
 @cloverleaf: Suunto couldn’t keep up with the established players (Garmin) nor the newcomers (Apple, Google) to the space. They had to attempt competition rather than sticking with their decent range of HR monitors and specialized wrist computers. I owned a Spartan GPS watch and it never really lived up to promises nor into a viable exercise flow.
  • 1 0
 @shredddr: I don't know about their failure rates but certainly trying to be competitive with Asian manufacturing seems like a risky business.... Especially for wheels, which are so well made by brands like Specialized/Roval, Santa Cruz/Reserve, trek/bontrager, Stan's, etc. Industry nine does US wheels but they are selling something somewhat unique with alloy spokes and high engagement hubs. Likewise I wonder how a brand like WAO will last with Canadian labor rates.
  • 2 0
 @foggnm: you gotta remember that when Amer picked up Enve, they still owned Mavic, which was part of the Salomon group. No doubt there was some strategerry talk about synergies (as with Arc and Salomon + Atomic) on how to address different market segments. But Mavic is long gone. They were the class act for a long time; continued acquisitions were their doom. Just too much disruption. How do you run a viable customer service through that, let alone sponsor top riders and teams? Yellow rims used to be The Sh*t, anyone recall?
  • 1 0
 @TEAM-ROBOT: Yer Rapha analogy kinda sucks, as they just closed (and laid off without warning) their Bentonville HQ, yes the same Bentonville where the Walton boys live. Also, 'operate at a loss for decades'??? they only just bought it 7 years ago, as in not even one decade.
  • 1 0
 @yakimonti: lol, they’re billionaire trust fund babies who got it to it because it was cool. If they really wanted to do something meaningful they could absorb losses no end and still never feel the effects personally.
  • 1 0
 @HSLD: What’s your point? The bike I ride into work every day is 20 years old. I’ve got my fun bike and I’ve got my commuter.
  • 1 1
 @shredddr: its dead, its for nurses who cant ride, but "need the stiffness of carbon wheels and stems", to sit and precariously decend incredibly slowly, and then rave about their new gear.
  • 4 0
 @englertracing: what is wrong with nurses?
  • 1 0
 @HciNGPDo: often run into groups of them with peacock bikes plugging up the trail
  • 3 1
 @englertracing: Maybe you should step up your trails. Sounds like you're riding on trails that are good for socializing.
  • 1 0
 @everythingsucks: haha exactly
  • 1 0
 @HSLD: Just realized my bike is 19 years old lol..
  • 1 0
 @everythingsucks: eh? mainly happens at greer ranch, a 100% rider built trail network, its not the gnarliest stuff around but has a unique feature of flow climbs, complete with berms on the uphills. Its now popular with e bikes as the climbs can be more entertaining then climbing up a road.
but by your logic, a bike park would be a place that needs stepping up from.... as you may find yourself socalizing at the top, middle, bottom, or on the lift... or resturaunt or parkinglot LOL
  • 4 1
 @mariomtblt: It's a family holding company not a traditional PE firm.
  • 2 0
 @englertracing: hitting Greer at the wrong time. Ride when you are sharing the trails with the rattlesnakes and the place is empty.
  • 1 0
 @TEAM-ROBOT: www.bicycleretailer.com/industry-news/2024/04/25/rapha-closes-office-bentonville-says-arkansas-remains-its-american
  • 65 12
 All I can say is We Are One.
  • 8 2
 They Are Sold?
  • 3 8
flag jrocksdh (Apr 30, 2024 at 10:55) (Below Threshold)
 Hopefully they will someday..that's a huge accomplishment in small biz!
  • 5 0
 @jrocksdh: I think it will take the exact buy for the owner (Dustin?) to sell as what the company stands for is not what larger companies think is best for maximum profit; 500 mile radius and in Canada manufacturing are not as scalable as overseas labor.
  • 4 1
 @Grady-Harris: I sure hope this is true. I've lived through VC funding - as a builder of anything, they are NOT aligned with your best interest; and now PE x2 - corporate cancer. Maybe I'm still naive but it would be great if you could build something into the DNA of your company that allowed you to be successful and prevented its ultimate destruction. Who will be the next 100-yr-old company? There used to be quite a few, but now?
  • 8 0
 This is the ENDE
  • 4 16
flag hi-dr-nick FL (Apr 30, 2024 at 15:52) (Below Threshold)
 Sure they make sick wheels, but some people want an option that is actually light.
  • 6 1
 Horses for courses. If you were in the market for a set of carbon MTB rims, Enve wouldn't be at the top of the pick. And if it was for road, Enve still wouldn't be at the top of the pick. For a company that was doing it all before the rest, I think they need to innovate or get more competitive in their pricing. Can't trade on the name forever.
  • 45 7
 and the cycle continues, another company sold to a private investment business. 2-3 years, they'll be gone, like every other cycling brand sold to an investment company over the last decade
  • 19 2
 Yup. It's a bummer.

How long before they're saddled with insurmountable debt and run a 2-for-1 sale?
  • 17 2
 @toast2266: But they got a really good shareholder return on investment by leaving that debt with the original company and moving substantive IP and profits up the chain. Won't someone please think of the shareholders???
  • 11 1
 @toast2266: Well considering they'll likely use ENVE's assets to finance the loan for this transaction, I'd say they'll be saddled with debt when this deal closes and the sales should start hitting about 12 months later.
  • 3 0
 Not trying to fact check you, just am legitimately curious about what other companies have had a similar plight in the last 2-3 years (bought by private investors and then disappeared).
  • 12 0
 @TET1: kona
  • 16 0
 @TET1: Colorado Cyclist. Bought by private equity one year ago, going bankrupt right meow.
  • 1 0
 @toast2266: not for the owners..huge celebration day when someone offers enough to buy your baby. Of course always difficult to sell your farm.
  • 4 0
 @toast2266: once again the unicycle rider gets burned...
  • 16 0
 @TET1: Nukeproof, Vitus, CRC, and Wiggle were purchased together by Sigma Sport Group in 2021, which is owned by by Austrian real estate investor and billionaire Rene Benko, during the Covid bike boom. Now those cycling brands are dead and their IP was sold off to another vulture capitalist in England for pennies on the dollar.
  • 1 0
 @ScandiumRider: Their bikes went up in price at their shops for the going out of business sale.
  • 14 0
 @TET1: the timeline for a PE fund is typically more like 4-6 years and the assets don't disappear, but get milked, pumped and sold to the next fund. The strategy is: focus solely on revenue-generating activities and nothing else (i.e. cut all R&D, foundational work) and squeeze costs. around year 3 of a 5 year fund make minimal investment in the next big thing to show potential hockey stick growth - don't start too early and definitely don't show anything more than the initial inflection, otherwise you can tell if it's a rocketship or a DOA patient.
  • 6 0
 @TET1: Guerrilla Gravity
  • 2 3
 I mean, what do you think the alternative is? These companies can’t get the financing to grow as independent businesses or perhaps even continue to operate at all independently. Someone has to make money off of it or they won’t continue. PV3 going to give it a go is better than nothing, at least they’re getting a chance.
  • 1 1
 @TEAM-ROBOT:
  • 4 0
 @TET1: Guerilla Gravity
  • 10 1
 BlackRock will own everything, someday.
  • 1 1
 @dthomp325: seems like Pole could use a PE firm
  • 23 0
 @gmiller720: I like Pole's plan way better. If you're gonna go out of business, do it because you hung your hat on a gold anodized monstrosity that no one wanted to buy, not because some rich investment fund had their way with you.
  • 1 0
 @toast2266: or send a prototype chain stay to pinkbike field test too ok keep the weight down and hope it doesn’t snap
  • 5 0
 I have a lifetime warranty on this wheelset... Aaaaand it's gone
  • 2 0
 Amer was a private equity firm until this year (now a public equity), it will hardly make a difference
  • 27 3
 Relax folks, it is 100% normal for holding companies and VC’s to sell after company valuations hit a desired threshold. The fact that they held for 8 years and didn’t dump post covid says a lot about how Enve is doing (that and the r&d spend they’ve been pacing at the last couple if years. They are also selling to a cycle oriented holding company, which means they are bing thoughtful about the sale, ensuring it is a good match, and is a holding company not a rando VC. This is not a fire sale.
  • 4 0
 I'm mostly just impressed by the lack of overflowing corporate mumbo-jumbo in the statements released by both Amer and Mark.
  • 15 4
 Most of the commenters on here have no idea how VCs, or businesses for that matter, work. This sounds like a good option. Most bike companies aren't led by great business minded leaders. If you get one that also has passion for the sport then thats a "win win".
  • 7 0
 @jhess8: nit: this is not VC, which is a pretty different model, typically a portfolio of longish shots where the vast majority don't make it, but one homeruns. PE is about consistent ROI over a fixed period, then flipping the assets
  • 22 0
 This is a complicated issue. My wife and I just sold our company that we put endless hours into, as well as nearly all of our capitol. We had many good years and memories with great people (as well as the inevitable ***holes in life). We are not greedy bastards. When the economy tanked we stopped drawing a salary in order to keep the employees paid in full. As our last name is not Walton, this was not sustainable for ever and we needed to sell. We vetted multiple buyers in order to find the best possible opportunity for our employees and the long term growth of the company. We hope it works out, but there are no guarantees unfortunately. Selling a company you very much care for is not as simple as most think. It is a long and exhausting process.
  • 19 3
 When is that corporate bs going to phase out. Translate "Enve wasn't making us enough money so we sold them to the highest bidder."
  • 17 4
 Ogden native here.. I have mixed feelings about this. This type of move seems to be a death sentence for a lot of companies recently, but PV3 seems like they could actually be good for ENVE, since the head honcho over there is into cycling. Ultimately, time will tell, but I'm optimistic about their future.
  • 17 0
 Being "in to cycling" doesnt really matter when the P/L statement is not looking like what your investors what it to.
  • 14 1
 Don't forget, gravel is the new golf, so no surprise these finance bros are "into cycling."

I don't Enve the Ogden based employees right now.
  • 1 0
 @ckcost: another reason my feelings on it are mixed.
  • 4 0
 I heard the guy with PV3 lives over in Morgan? So he's like, LOCAL local.
  • 5 0
 @cdub96: He probably lives over in Morgan so he can be closer to the private ski resort
  • 13 2
 As an Amer Sports employee I’m super bummed to se them go.. but Amer has definitely been neglecting them and focused on the other brands.

This can really only be good for them I think and I’m glad they are keeping it local. ENVE has always been an amazing company that gets shit on kinda unfairly because one or two of their employees had big egos. Everyone I’ve met there are good peeps that love bikes and seek to do the best they can. I’m biased since I got a discount on their stuff but it really is just bomber product that I trust with my life when dropping into sketchy terrain, so I hope they keep the dream alive and keep on going.
  • 2 1
 Dude I miss the employee discounts so bad.
  • 10 1
 Was trying to think, "does it matter?"

Of the "soulless corporate holding companies" Amer Sports seems to have been pretty OK, at last on the ski side. They own Solomon, Atomic and Armada, and all those brands have continued to put out compelling, high-quality products under their ownership.

Maybe a smaller more bike-focused owner will be able to do more interesting things with Enve than they could.

On the other hand, does Enve really offer any thing special besides a brand name in 2024? You want good carbon wheels, stems, bars and forks? You've got dozens of options. You want a lifetime warranty and crash replacement? Again, dozens of options.

Is there some hole in the "carbon bike components" that Enve will be able to fill under new ownership? It'd be nice if they got cheaper, but I can't really see the company whose name was a synonym for "expensive carbon components" going that direction. And other than that, I can't really think of one.

It'll also be interesting to see how much Amer made or lost on the brand. They say they've "agreed to not share details of the transaction" - but there might be something in their next financial reports that give us a clue.
  • 15 1
 I'm gonna sound like a radical here, but I think killing functional companies (hollowing out their staff and product lines from the inside out) is always a net bad for society. Whether you like Enve's value proposition as a customer, they employ real people who make real products that real customers like and use. I'd like to see them keep that going instead of blowing it up to make a quick buck. Not saying that's for sure what the new private equity firm will do, but I definitely think "it matters." It always matters to the employees, the vendors, and their families who get screwed too often in these sorts of deals.
  • 5 1
 Amer is definitely focused on the footwear/softgoods and winter sport equipment side of things right now. That’s why they ditched Suunto as well. They’ve been ignoring ENVE from my perspective so I think this can only be a positive, if anything, kind of shift for the brand.
  • 2 0
 @TEAM-ROBOT: That's a great point. I didn't mean to ignore the employees of Enve (or any other company going through an acquisition) in my "does it matter" comment.

Should have said, "does it matter to consumers?"
  • 13 2
 Breaking news
  • 7 2
 If they disappear, it just may be due to the fact that they sell a product for an ultra-premium price that provides no performance upgrade over the same products sold by other companies for half the price. I had one set of ENVE wheels and cracked both of them over a 3 week timeframe in 2014 or 15. They refused to honor their lifetime warranty. I still only ride on carbon wheels and have had most brands over the years w/o ever having a single problem with even one of them.
  • 9 1
 Why is an Enve wheelset $1000 more than We Are One?
  • 9 5
 Independently owned bike company raises prices to protect margin and survive economic climate...
PB commenters: Corporate greed!!

Venture Capital or Private Equity buys bike company...
PB commenters: Corporate greed!!

It's lose/lose around here.
  • 1 0
 Top-scoring comment is pro-corporation and site now owns our comments? We're in thrall and will die on this plastic hill--don't worry
  • 5 2
 Time to start maximizing profits at the expense of product quality, good staff, warranty, etc. I don't want to be cynical but that's often the process when these big investment firms buy up companies then the hatchets come out to maximize cuts, efficiency, just to flip the company at a profit in a year or two after they 'increase' its value.
  • 5 1
 I keep seeing all these comments about bike/sports companies failing after being sold to a PE firm with no context other than Kona. What are some other instances of this? Genuinely curious.
  • 4 0
 There are examples on both side of this, Santa Cruz, Canyon, YT, Fox Factory, and yes, even Pinkbike was or currently is backed by private equity
  • 4 1
 Nukeproof, Vitus, CRC, and Wiggle were purchased together by Sigma Sport Group in 2021, which is owned by by Austrian real estate investor and billionaire Rene Benko, during the Covid bike boom. Now those cycling brands are dead and their IP was sold off to another vulture capitalist in England for pennies on the dollar.
  • 7 0
 Also Guerrila Gravity. Bought by PE recently, now bankrupt and all assets sold off at auction.
  • 4 1
 Amer’s main holdings are mostly ski oriented (Atomic, Armada, Salomon, Arcteryx). Enve was always a weird fit but Amer did a decent job keeping the brand distinct and premium.

Doubt some dude who likes bikes but is a venture capitalist will do anything but devalue the brand in a bid to milk more short-term profit out of the brand.

The only way a brand like Enve keeps producing top-notch equipment is if the management is top-heavy with experienced engineers.

I hope that happens, but I doubt it.
  • 7 0
 Private
Equity's
Next
Industry
Sacrifice:
ENVE
  • 3 1
 ENVE contributes less than 1% to Amer Sports annual revenue, and Amer's IPO 2 months ago generated $1.4B. Seems akin to a millionaire running a lemonade stand on the weekend. Keeping ENVE in their portfolio seems to make little sense regardless of whether ENVE is turning a profit or not.
  • 4 1
 It was a logical move for America, unfortunate for Enve.
  • 4 0
 *logical move for Amer*
  • 2 0
 @wyorider: Amer is a Finish company mainly owned by a Chinese conglomerate. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amer_Sports
  • 3 1
 @jonemyers: I’m a ski tech, and deal with Amer on a regular basis. They’re a holding company, not a VC firm. Their track record with premium high-end outdoor equipment is pretty good. They invest enough in R&D to develop and make decent products.
  • 1 0
 it'd be interesting to see which other companies were bunched together when sold off to another VC outfit.....it's usually a list of companies sold in one swoop.
  • 9 4
 Pinkbike haters always bring their A-game on business ownership:

Maximum Hate
Maximum Ignorance
Maximum Hypocrisy
  • 3 0
 I bought some bars 2 years ago. My only enve buy. If I’m not crazy, the box or sticker said made in Taiwan or china. I was bummed. I really thought I was buying an American built bar.
  • 5 1
 A healthcare company buys a cycling company because the CFO likes to ride bikes ....what could go wrong .
  • 3 2
 Well, I have no inside information but in my business this usually means things are going poorly on the financial side. As an owner of a set of Enve wheels, stem and handlebars, who has had constant issues with the wheels, I'm not surprised. I don't see a lot of Enve wheels on the trails I ride but I do see a hell of a lot of their competitors wheels. There's an opportunity for them to leapfrog their competition, but from my experience, they'll keep on trying to force people to buy a new set of wheels at $2500 rather than sell one wheel or rim to 2nd owners at a palatable price. And just like I have, most people will go to another brand. When I broke my Enve rear wheel I was stunned at how easily it collapsed. It didn't hold up to the claims I keep hearing, so why would I piss away a pile of money on the same brand and HOPE that it doesn't happen again when I can buy a single rim from another brand for much less? Enve just lost a customer and probably any of my friends as well. Not a good business model. As we say in sales, the easiest sale to win is a referral. The hardest sale to win is the one you have to win back.
  • 1 0
 Enve had a pretty big presence at Sea Otter. But, I didn't see anything in their platform that other companies have but at much lower prices. These days, with thrifty consumers, it will be difficult to keep a pricey so so product in the profit zone.
  • 2 0
 Not surprising. Amer already sold off their other bike related brands. Their primary focus appears to be winter sports gear and baseball/softball related gear.
  • 11 7
 Does anyone actually have any ENVE parts on their bike anymore anyway?
  • 3 4
 That would be a big no !
  • 1 0
 I have an Enve DH bar from 2014 that I cut down to 720mm on my bikepacking bike. Which is a 2014 Norco Revolver HT.
  • 1 1
 I have an Enve bar on my old roadie. Been great. No idea how old it is, but I got it second hand in 2018. I'm about to get an Enve bar...for free, if that counts.
  • 1 0
 M9 50mm on my huck-adapted trail bikes. Plush precision with A318 and Cavity.2. Will I pay full price + tax if they need replacement? Probably--dimensions alone are a critical element of fit
  • 1 0
 I had to think about it since I'm a Utah native and ride in the general area that's close to the ENVE headquarters. Compared to about 8 years ago, no, there's hardly any ENVE wheel sets on local bikes now. 8 years or so ago, you couldn't go on rides without seeing their wheels EVERYWHERE locally. They were like the 'cool kid' setup. I seriously can't remember the last time I saw some.
  • 1 0
 @Leppah: must be the roadies now?
  • 6 3
 I have no feelings about this but most of y'all some pallbearers.
  • 4 3
 I mean, statistically speaking, most VC acquired companies fail due to the capitol first approach that VCs push.

Essentially you can expect the following:

Cheaper materials/construction
Less customer support
Increased prices
  • 3 1
 This makes no sense, otherwise they wouldn't do it.

Also VC ≠ PE.
  • 6 3
 Well so much for that warranty on all those ENVE products.
  • 2 0
 Zactly! I tell everyone who brags about that "lifetime warranty" thing... who's lifetime? And it isn't a TRUE lifetime warranty if it's only for the original buyer, which all LT warranties are that I've seen in the MTB market. Don't believe those CraigsList ads that claim a lifetime warranty, that deal is dead as soon as it's sold to the next owner.
  • 2 0
 AFAIK just the rims and frames are made in the US. The other stuff (forks, stems, bars, etc) is all from overseas.

-W
  • 6 4
 nothing good comes from private equity .
  • 6 2
 A lot of brands we see on Pinkbike wouldn't exist today if it weren't for private equity.
  • 1 0
 I bought two sets of M735 wheels last year so I hope by the time Enve is liquidated my 5 year warranty will have expired.
  • 2 0
 Not only is PE killing MTB brands it's killing the stock market
  • 2 1
 I've owned a few sets of their wheels. Too many other options at a better value and customer experience.
  • 2 0
 Another one is ready to go !
  • 2 0
 That is a soulless looking building
  • 2 0
 Let the pump and dump begin.
  • 2 0
 that lifetime warranty is now measured in hours...........
  • 1 0
 Two of the greatest comment sections on the web. Pinkbike and Pickuptruck.com. /s
  • 1 0
 Nowadays when I hear or read the word "edge," everything takes on a whole new meaning.
  • 6 6
 Who knows, maybe one day they'll outsource abroad and catch up on quality of much cheaper carbon manufactuers!
  • 2 1
 Oh No! What will the dentists do now?
  • 4 1
 Zipp. Still owned/run by cyclists and making rims in the USA.
  • 6 0
 @dkidd: zipp is owned by SRAM. Until SRAM acquired Zipp, their products were garbage. Non-parallel braking surfaces, inconsistent product weights and breakages were the norm, not the exception.

Having a larger parent company as an owner CAN be beneficial if long-term viability is prioritized rather than short-term profits.
  • 1 0
 I can say, the 404 FC on my roadie have been great for the short 4000 miles I've had then. Hit a pothole when I wasn't paying attention and swore I wrote off a wheel...totally fine.
  • 1 0
 @wyorider: yup. Like I said, rider owned and run.
  • 3 2
 The beginning of the end.
  • 1 0
 If corporations are people. Is selling a business trafficking?
  • 1 0
 If the business was running, they wouldn't have to sell it.
  • 1 0
 The power of a logo!
  • 1 0
 On dear.
  • 5 5
 Commence death march
  • 3 1
 Sports based company and a private investment firm but which one is better? They is only one way to find out. FIGHT!
  • 6 9
 Bye Enve!!!
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