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Amprio confirms take-over by SRAM
SCHWEINFURT, Germany – SRAM’s activities in the e-bike category have entered a new stage now that the German e-bike drive systems supplier, Amprio, is connected to the American bicycle component manufacturer.
Amprio has confirmed the take-over of the e-bike components business of Rheinmetall by SRAM, but SRAM is still yet to officially confirm the new situation.
Bike Europe learned from industry insiders that SRAM is now taking serious action to join the e-bike boom. The Amprio head office in Neuss, Germany, is already closed, and an out-of-office reply Bike Europe received stated, ‘due to an operations transfer, you will reach me from now on under: ……..@sram.com’
It is not the first time that it has been hinted that SRAM has initiated an entrance into the e-bike drive system market. The Americans have a sort of love-hate relationship with electric drive systems. After each attempt to enter the market, they returned to their roots. Each time, rumours about the in-house development of e-bike drive systems came forward. A formal take-over, as now seems to be the case, has never been mentioned.
Even last October we learned that two OEMs would spec the SRAM e-bike drive as of 2023, but SRAM’s director of business development for e-MTB and e-mobility, Marcus Schneider, withheld from any comment at that time.
RMAG Motor
A major structural adjustment in the beginning of 2020, meant that Amprio, as a spin-off of Rheinmetall Group, was included in Rheinmetall Automotive’s Aftermarket Division, which operates on the global aftermarkets. Last July, Amprio launched its latest drive system, the rapidly piling up in warehouses. That shouldn’t be a problem for companies in a market that had just experienced their best years ever. For Prophete and Cycle Union, it was.
The sale process is also being supported by distressed M&A experts from the international auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers GmbH (PwC). The sales process is expected to be completed by the end of February 2023. (JB)
