IN BRIEF
Campagnolo announced on Wednesday 2 September that a minority investor is joining its capital: the holding company SPAC, which takes a stake in the Italian manufacturer under an investment agreement signed with the existing shareholder. The Campagnolo family, owner since the company was founded by Tullio Campagnolo in Vicenza in 1933, remains the majority shareholder and retains control. Neither the amount nor the size of the stake has been disclosed. According to Escape Collective, SPAC SA is the Swiss holding company through which Ivan Glasenberg, the former chief executive of Glencore, also owns Pinarello — but the press release states that Campagnolo will continue to operate in full independence from SPAC’s other cycling investments, Pinarello included. Closing is expected within the month.
There are companies you assume will never change hands. Campagnolo is one of them: since 1933, the Vicenza firm has belonged to the family of its founder, and that continuity is part of what you buy when you fit an Italian groupset to your bike. On 2 September, that exclusivity came to an end — partially.
A minority stake in Campagnolo’s capital
The announcement is understated. According to the press release carried by Cycling Industry News, “SPAC — following the execution of an investment agreement with Campagnolo’s existing shareholder — will acquire a minority stake in the company by way of a strategic investment”. The text adds that “the Campagnolo family will remain the majority shareholder and retain control”, and that the deal “represents an important step in the evolution of Campagnolo”.
Closing, the press release says, “is expected within the coming month and is subject to the conditions precedent customary for this type of transaction”. According to Escape Collective, the size and the price of the stake have not been disclosed.
Who is SPAC, the investor buying into Campagnolo
This is where the sources differ in their level of detail. Asked by Cyclingnews, a Campagnolo spokesperson described the investor as a “Swiss private investment holding company”, without going any further. Escape Collective, for its part, writes that SPAC SA is “a Swiss holding company through which former Glencore chief executive Ivan Glasenberg also owns Pinarello”.
The connection matters: Campagnolo and Pinarello are two Italian flagships, one in components, the other in frames, and the idea of a single shareholder taking an interest in both points to something other than an isolated financial deal. The press release anticipates the question: “Campagnolo will continue to operate in full independence from SPAC’s other investments in the cycling industry, including Pinarello.”
“A very delicate moment, and an important day”
Another sentence, outside the press release, lights up the event from the inside. It comes from a company spokesperson, who gave Cyclingnews an internal reading of what is happening: “It’s very big; Matteo was the first external person to join the board, and now we have a minor stakeholder that is a first for the company. It’s a very delicate moment, and an important day for Campagnolo as a company, and also for the Campagnolo family.”
Cyclingnews describes Campagnolo as “a company controlled by the same family for almost a century”. That is what gives its scope to a deal whose value remains unknown: the novelty lies in the principle more than in the sum.
What the brand says it expects from the deal
According to the quote attributed to the family in the press release: “We are delighted and proud to enter into this partnership with SPAC, a strong and experienced partner that shares our vision for Campagnolo’s future.” The investment is to bring, the text specifies, “additional resources and strategic expertise”.
The press release, for its part, says what the investment is meant to fund: deepening relationships with leading bicycle manufacturers and trade partners, “modernising its operations” and “investing in the development of the Campagnolo and Fulcrum brands”. The brand says it is “fully committed to both drivetrains and wheels”. Closing, for its part, is due within the coming month.
