International Dealer News IDN 149 June/July 2019 | Page 48

news ROOM
Nolan Helmets
BRIEFS bought by Shark
NEWS
The 2019 FIM International Six Days
Enduro, the 94th edition of the
event, is being staged at Portimao,
Portugal, November 11-16. Over
650 riders from more than 30
nations will tackle more than 1,500
km of gruelling terrain and
technical tests. Australia won in
Chile in 2019. This will be the 13th
time the event has been staged in
Portugal since its inception in 1913.
In 2020 it will move to Italy
(Piedmont/Lombardy) for the first
time since Sardinia in 2013.
KTM increased its market share to 12.3%
in Q1 2019 with a registration increase of
+22%, seeing growth in major markets
such as Germany (+29%), France
(+34%) and Spain (+20%). They were
also up +30% in India. Contrary to initial
estimates, the retail motorcycle market in
Europe grew by around +20% in the first
quarter.
Securing his third world
crown, Husqvarna
Factory Racing’s Colton
Haaker (USA) won the
2019 FIM SuperEnduro
World Championship
at the fifth and final
round of the series in
Bilbao, Spain, in April, riding an FX
350. KTM's Cody Webb (USA) and
Taddy Blazusiak (Poland) were
second and third, with Husqvarna's
Pol Tarres (Spain) fourth and Alfredo
Gomez (Spain) fifth.
Record-breaking racer Zef Eisenberg
survived a 195 mph scare to establish a
new record for the Flying Mile at Pendine
Sands in South Wales. Riding a specially
made 400 bhp supercharged Suzuki
Hayabusa that was built and prepared by
Eisenberg’s MADMAX Racing Team, he
set a two-way average of 182.40 mph on
Saturday 6 April. The Flying Mile record
was set by Sir Malcolm Campbell in 1927
at 174 mph in the famous Blue Bird car.
Eisenberg raised that to 182.49 mph in a
two-way-average flying-mile
measurement that could have been
higher if the engine had not blown up at
a GPS recorded speed of 195 mph-plus.
48
The parent company of Shark
Helmets in France, 2 Ride Holding,
has "accelerated its development
plans" with the acquisition of
famous Italian rival Nolan.
With financial support from Eurazeo
PME, one of the two Paris based equity
investment funds that controls the
ownership of 2 Ride Holding (2RH),
Nolan was founded by entrepreneur
Lander Nocchi in 1972 and has been
under the equity investor ownership of
Helmet Invest since 1992.
Alberto Vergani, President of Helmet
Invest, said: "In a world of globalisation
we have been looking to the future of
our group, and in 2RH we believe have
found the best partner to continue our
market leadership and to maintain our
production in Italy. After 26 years our
group of shareholders were looking for
a way out, and that one was the best
solution for the continuity of our
brands." The Nolan Group is currently
engaged "in the execution of an
industry, innovation, design and
production process analysis across its
brands - Nolan, X-lite, Grex and the N-
Com communication systems brand".
With a reinvestment of around € 22m,
Eurazeo PME is supporting 2RH as part
of its development and transformation
strategy. "The group thus maintains the
ambition stated at the time of Eurazeo
PME's initial investment to double the
size of the group by 2023," states
Erwann Le Ligné, Managing Director of
Eurazeo PME.
"The alliance of its brand portfolio of
Shark, Bering, Segura, Bagster and
Cairn with those of the Nolan Group
represents an opportunity for 2RH to
reach € 150m in turnover in 2019 and
to establish its position as the European
leader in the protection of the individual
in motorcycle and outdoor sectors.
"As announced at the time of our
INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - JUNE/JULY 2019
association with the 2RH management
team in 2018, the addition of Nolan
confirms our shared ambition to double
in size worldwide over the next five
years. This transaction will be supported
with continuous efforts in innovation
and will strengthen both entities in
their international development."
Patrick François, President of 2RH, says:
"We are very happy to welcome Nolan
to the 2RH Group. This association will
strengthen our capacity to develop
exciting and innovative new products
for our markets around the world. The
Nolan and Shark brands, along with
their teams, share similar values - the
safety and protection of our riders,
whether on motorbikes or other forms
of transport. Post transaction, all the
existing brands of both groups will
remain in their markets. We would like
to thank Nolan shareholders for
trusting us with the future of Nolan and
its brands."
Eurazeo PME is an investment
company with a consolidated turnover
of € 1.3 billion in 2018 that is focussed
on majority investments in French
SMEs (with a value of under € 250
million) as a long-term professional
shareholder.
In addition to Shark, the 2RH brand
portfolio also includes Bering, Bagster,
Segura and the Cairn ski and bike
helmets brand. Prior owner Naxicap
Partners, also a Paris based private
equity investor, sold a majority stake in
2RH to the Eurazeo PME fund in 2018.
Nolan is said to currently be "the only
company in the sector to produce all of
its helmets in Italy through a fully
integrated production process, from
the receiving of the raw materials to the
final assembly of the product. It is one
of the largest manufacturers of helmets
in Europe, with over 400,000 helmets
produced each year".
www.shark-helmets.com
www.nolan.it
www.idnmag.com