Nolan Helmets bought by SharkThe 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 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
