Vittoria changes hands to a new private equity investor GreenMo goes bankrupt as e-mobility market growth misjudged

BREMBATE, Italy – Private equity investors, Telemos Capital, have signed a binding agreement to acquire a majority stake in Italian tyre manufacturer, Vittoria. Together with Wise Equity, Telemos aims to accelerate the growth of the company on a global scale. The transaction is expected to close in early 2023.

It was only in July 2020 that Wise Equity was presented as the new owner of Vittoria following the departure of Rudie Campagne. Telemos will now invest alongside Vittoria’s senior management team and Wise Equity “to build on the company’s position in the performance tyre market”

Substantial business growth

According to a company statement, the business has grown substantially since Wise’s investment in 2020. Today, the Vittoria Group is led by chairman and CEO, Stijn Vriends, who, together with the current senior management team, will significantly re-invest and is committed to continuing to drive the company’s ‘The Ride Ahead’ strategy. “The support of Wise Equity has been fantastic over the last years, and we are very pleased that Telemos, with all its rel- evant experience in growing global brands, is now joining us on the ride,” said Vriends.

International expansion plans for Vittoria

With the backing of Telemos, Vittoria will accelerate its plans for international expansion and the further development of its products, services and channels. Vittoria will continue to invest in sustainability, innovation and research & development. The company recently inaugurated Vittoria Park, a cycling innovation and experience venue next to its headquarters near Milan. Telemos Capital, which invests in private European businesses, is funded by family capital. The investors state that it “acquires majority stakes in businesses with the potential for sustainable growth through international expansion, add-on acquisitions or operational improvements” . Other investments in the sector currently include Lovehoney Group and Mammut Sports Group.

WAARDENBURG, the Netherlands

– GreenMo Group, which leases e-bikes and electric scooters to prominent delivery outlets in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and England, has been declared bankrupt. According to the trustee, the company misjudged the growth opportunities.

GreenMo owns a fleet of around 30,000 ebikes and e-scooters, which are leased in the seven countries in which it is operational. Clients are mainly meal delivery companies, but also include the Dutch police force and postal company Sandd. Back in 2020, Bike Europe reported that the GreenMo Group, founded in 2013 by Doeke Boersma and Donny van den Oever, was on a rapid international growth path. This was noted by the acquisition of zZoomer, a Belgian market leader for electric delivery mobility. But, with the bankruptcy announcement of GreenMo, the headwinds experienced by young tech companies riding high on private equity funding are being felt again.

Stunted growth

Curator Marc Udink told the Dutch newspaper, Het Financieele Dagblad, that GreenMo had ordered many bicycles and scooters and expect- ed growth to continue to be strong, but this turned out to be less than expected. “The effect of the pandemic ebbed away, meaning there was less demand for such services than anticipated,” he told the media outlet. In 2021, GreenMo suffered a loss of €4.7 million, and the company also closed with a loss last year. The Financial Dagblad reports that the company’s activities are continuing for the time being.

“There is enthusiasm for a restart, and I expect that a solution can be reached for the company,” Udink told the newspaper. The company’s subsidiary Go Sharing, raised €50 million in funding in 2021 for its shared e-scooter and e-bike platform but had to scale back its ambitions last year. It is now operating in 13 Dutch cities instead of 45. Go Sharing is not affected by the bankruptcy of GreenMo. “It is striking that with such an investment, an incorrect estimate was made of the growth expectation,” says Udink.