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☆ The 'Apple of e-bikes' targets profitability next year even as rivals enter bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

CowboyCowboy, the Belgian electric bike maker, is expecting to hit full-year profitability in 2024 even as some of its market rivals are facing financial hardship. By the third quarter, Cowboy would then have reached profitability on a full-year basis, according to the firm's boss. It's been termed the "Apple of e-bikes" in the past due to its integration of software smarts in its bikes. In July, Dutch e-bike firm VanMoof filed for protection from creditors. Revonte, a Finnish e-bike firm, also filed for bankruptcy and said it is selling its intellectual property.

Persons: Cowboy Cowboy, Adrien Roose, Roose, we'll, they're, Cowboy Organizations: Cowboy Cruiser, Cowboy, CNBC, Apple Locations: Belgian, Dutch

☆ McLaren Applied's Lavoie buys bankrupt Dutch e-bike maker VanMoof
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Nick Carey Tosterling | Nick Carey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The logo of e-bike maker VanMoof is seen on a bicycle in Amsterdam, Netherlands August 17, 2023. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON/AMSTERDAM, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Lavoie, the electric scooter unit of Formula One engineering and technology firm McLaren Applied, said on Thursday it has agreed to buy bankrupt premium Dutch e-bike maker VanMoof and will invest to stabilize and expand its business. Fry said McLaren Applied - bought from McLaren Group by private equity firm Greybull Capital in 2021 - would retain VanMoof's departmental managers and would "engage and retain or rehire some of the great people" the Dutch e-bike maker employed. VanMoof had also struggled with quality problems, which McLaren Applied's Fry said had hurt sales. McLaren Applied recently launched the premium Lavoie e-scooter brand.

Persons: de Wouw, Lavoie, Nick Fry, Fry, Jan Padberg, Robin de Wit, McLaren, VanMoof, McLaren Applied's Fry, Nick Carey, David Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Formula, McLaren, Reuters, VanMoof, McLaren Group, Capital, Norwest Venture Partners, Nasdaq, Thomson Locations: Amsterdam, Netherlands, AMSTERDAM, Silicon

☆ Dutch E-Bike Brand VanMoof Bought Out of Bankruptcy by Scooter Maker
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Claire Moses | More About Claire Moses | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

VanMoof, the Dutch e-bike maker that gained a zealous following but declared bankruptcy last month, has been acquired by Lavoie, an upscale electric scooter company, the firms announced on Thursday. Riders of the expensive and technologically advanced VanMoof bikes were left in limbo by the company’s bankruptcy, because the machines are built from proprietary parts that only the company made and many of the bikes’ functions are linked to a smartphone app that runs on the company’s servers. Despite the buzz around the brand, VanMoof had run into financial problems that led to a production backlog and monthslong waits for sales and repairs. But riders will not be completely out of limbo under the new ownership. “What they can’t expect in the first couple of weeks is definitive answers to the problems,” said Nick Fry, the chairman of McLaren Applied, the British motorsports technology company that owns Lavoie.

Persons: Lavoie, VanMoof, ”, Nick Fry, Fry Organizations: Riders, McLaren

☆ McLaren Applied's Lavoie in talks to buy Dutch e-bike maker VanMoof - source
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Nick Carey Tosterling | Nick Carey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Lavoie, the electric scooter unit of Formula One engineering and technology firm McLaren Applied, is in advanced talks to buy bankrupt Dutch e-bike maker VanMoof, according to a source familiar with the negotiations. The source said talks are at "quite an advanced stage" and would involve Lavoie taking over "as much as possible" of VanMoof's operations. The company had raised more than $180 million from investors including private equity firm Hillhouse, Silicon Valley venture capital fund Norwest Venture Partners and venture firm Felix Capital. According to another source familiar with the matter, McLaren Applied is one of two suitors remaining for VanMoof. Bought from McLaren by private equity firm Greybull Capital in 2021, McLaren Applied recently launched the premium Lavoie e-scooter brand.

Persons: de Wouw, Lavoie, VanMoof, Felix Capital, Jan Padberg, Nick Carey, Frances Kerry Organizations: REUTERS, Formula, McLaren, Reuters, Norwest Venture Partners, Nasdaq, Capital, Thomson Locations: Amsterdam, Netherlands, Silicon Valley

☆ ‘A Nice Bike, When It Works’: Riders Fret After E-Bike Maker Goes Bust
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Claire Moses | More About Claire Moses | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It’s easy to spot VanMoof electric bikes on Amsterdam’s streets. The riders are often young professionals who are barely pedaling as they whiz past fellow cyclists. “If I break it, or something else happens, I don’t know where to go,” said Gideon Sutaman, 28, who lives in Amsterdam and has been riding his VanMoof e-bike since December. As the e-bike market boomed, the company sold about 200,000 bikes and opened stores across Europe, the United States and Japan. In the e-bike world, VanMoof was often likened to Apple or Tesla, given its elegant designs, heavy use of custom materials and premium prices.

Persons: ”, Gideon Sutaman, VanMoof Organizations: Apple Locations: Amsterdam, Europe, United States, Japan

☆ Micromobility submits bid for Dutch e-bike maker VanMoof
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, July 31 (Reuters) - Nasdaq-listed Micromobility.com (MCOM.O) said on Monday it had submitted a non-binding bid to acquire bankrupt Dutch electric bike maker VanMoof Amsterdam for an undisclosed sum. Its initial non-binding bid was positively received and the company is now preparing to present its binding offer, it said in a statement. It has said that administrators are now considering whether it can sell assets and restructure to save the business. VanMoof sold around 200,000 bikes for more than 2,000 euros ($2,250) each before going bankrupt, partly due to high maintenance costs. Reporting by Anthony Deutsch and Geert De Clercq; Editing by Angus MacSwanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: VanMoof, Anthony Deutsch, Geert De Clercq, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Nasdaq, Thomson Locations: Amsterdam

☆ Dutch e-bike maker VanMoof bankrupt, administrators may sell assets
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

AMSTERDAM, July 18 (Reuters) - Dutch e-bike maker VanMoof has been declared bankrupt and curators are researching whether it can sell assets and restructure, the company said on Tuesday. VanMoof, which raised 100 million euros ($112.56 million) to expand internationally as sales boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic, had filed for protection from creditors last week. The company said in a statement that a judge at the Amsterdam District Court had declared Dutch entities VanMoof Global Holding BV, VanMoof BV and Van Moof Global Support BV bankrupt on July 17. VanMoof bikes feature a sleek, simplistic design with the battery built into the frame, and have become commonplace on the streets of Amsterdam, where the company was founded in 2009. ($1 = 0.8890 euros)Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Van Moof, Toby Sterling, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Louise Heavens Organizations: VanMoof, Van, NOS, Thomson Locations: AMSTERDAM, Amsterdam, VanMoof, Dutch

Here’s how the VanMoof story started some 16 years ago: Two Dutch brothers, Taco and Ties Carlier, visit New York on a business trip. Being Dutch, they rent some bikes and happily toodle around. Somehow they don’t notice the madcap taxis, the potholes,the barreling crosstown buses or the prayer that needs to be said before changing over to the right lane on Sixth Avenue. “We just felt that New York was one of the best places in the world to ride a bike,” Taco Carlier says. But they don’t see many other cyclists.

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