Houlihan Lokey Advises Cicli Pinarello

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Cicli Pinarello (Pinarello), a leading premium road bikes, accessories, and apparel brand and portfolio company of L Catterton, has been acquired by a private family office.

Founded in 1952, Pinarello is a leading premium road bikes, accessories, and apparel brand. The company is known for its superior designs, craftsmanship, and racing success, with products for both amateur and professional riders. Pinarello sells to both retailers and distributors in more than 50 countries around the world.

Fausto Pinarello will maintain an interest in the company while keeping his role as Chairman. He will continue with his crucial involvement in the company’s production and R&D departments to help shepherd the business through its next wave of innovation and growth.

Born from professional cycling, Pinarello’s decades of proven performance at the highest level of sport and its uncompromising Italian artistry have made the brand instantly recognizable and desired by both amateur and professional riders across the globe. Together with L Catterton, Pinarello has successfully executed numerous organizational and growth initiatives that have grown and strengthened the already exceptional Pinarello brand.

L Catterton is a market-leading consumer-focused investment firm, managing approximately $33 billion of equity capital across three multi-product platforms: private equity, credit, and real estate. Leveraging deep category insight, operational excellence, and a broad network of strategic relationships, L Catterton's team of more than 200 investment and operating professionals across 17 offices partners with management teams to drive differentiated value creation across its portfolio. Founded in 1989, the firm has made over 250 investments in some of the world's most iconic consumer brands.

“With L Catterton’s global platform and their expertise in fitness, outdoor, and luxury, Pinarello has grown its status as an elite performance brand at the apex of the cycling industry,” said Fausto Pinarello, Chairman of Pinarello. “Over the past seven years with L Catterton’s partnership and capabilities, we have built on our best-in-class R&D capabilities, bolstered by collaborations with the industry’s top riders and organizations, creating a product set that remains consistently at the forefront of innovation. We have also achieved record revenues and are now poised for our next era of growth. I am very excited to continue the momentum that we have achieved, and this transaction will allow us to further elevate our company as the international leader in the high-end bike sector through ever-increasing investments in R&D focused on making industry-changing innovations around materials and products.”

Matt Nugent, a Partner in L Catterton’s Growth Fund, commented, “Since partnering with Pinarello, we have leveraged our extensive expertise in the health and wellness and sporting categories to build on Pinarello’s Italian racing heritage and expand its reach to riders around the world. The company’s exceptional growth was enabled by an extremely talented and committed management team, and we are very proud of the success they have achieved. We are confident that the company will continue this success in its next chapter as it continues to design industry-leading products for both its current and new market segments.”

“We are honored to have had the opportunity to support Pinarello,” said Luigi Feola, a Managing Partner at L Catterton Europe. “With L Catterton’s global platform and extensive resources across both its Growth and European Funds, Pinarello was able to accelerate its multi-pronged growth strategy, resulting in significant scale and profitability. As Pinarello continues to meet outsized demand and drive increased capacity and efficiency, we have tremendous confidence in its ability to continue to build upon its reputation as one of the greatest cycling brands in the world.”

Houlihan Lokey acted as financial advisor and ADVANT Nctm provided legal counsel to Pinarello. The company also received support from Groupe Electa S.A.