Business
The children’s and youth bike manufacturer woom will get another investor in early 2023 with the Jebsen Group. He acquires around 15 percent of woom. The company, which was founded in a Viennese garage, intends to expand further.
In addition, the existing core investor Bregal Unternehmerkapital (BU) is expanding its investment through the fund it advises. In this way, woom can push ahead with its own expansion plans even more, according to a press release from the company. The transaction is still subject to official approval.
“With the Jebsen Group, we were able to gain another investor whose industry know-how will help us to develop additional markets with strong growth potential,” says woom Co-CEO Paul Fattinger. The purchase of the shares was signed on December 23, 2022.
In 2023 the tenth anniversary will be celebrated
“With innovative products and a relentless commitment to excellence, woom places children at the heart of everything the company does,” comments Alfons Mensdorff-Pouilly, Managing Director of Jebsen Capital and CEO of the Jebsen Group. “We’ve long been big fans of the brand, so we’re even more excited to begin our partnership with woom today to bring the joy of cycling to children around the world.”
Woom celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2023. According to its own statement, woom has recorded an average annual growth rate of around 50 percent in recent years. In 2021, the children’s bicycle manufacturer had sales of 86 million euros. In addition to woom founders Marcus Ihlenfeld and Christian Bezdeka and woom USA founder Mathias Ihlenfeld, funds advised by Bregal Unternehmerkapital (BU) are also involved in woom.
The Investors
Founded in 1895, the Jebsen Group is a brand developer with a focus on marketing, investments and sales. Jebsen Capital is the investment arm of Jebsen Group and acts as an in-house asset manager with a focus on growth financing. Jebsen Capital invests its own capital from offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Berlin.
Bregal Unternehmerkapital (“BU”) is a family investor with offices in Munich and Milan. As part of a family business that has grown over generations, the BU funds invest in medium-sized companies headquartered in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and northern Italy.