The US basketball star LeBron James acquires a minority stake in the Koblenz-based bicycle manufacturer Canyon Bicycles via an investment company.
The move was made through LRMR Ventures, a company owned by James and his business partner Maverick Carter, together with the US financial investor SC Holdings, said Canyon's majority owner Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL) on Friday. The Belgian investment company GBL joined the wheel manufacturer at the end of 2020. According to Canyon, the investment by the new financiers amounts to a total of around 30 million euros.
The basketball star should use his fame to help drive Canyon's growth in the United States, GBL said. The 37-year-old is one of the superstars of the US basketball league NBA and plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. Last year, together with Carter, he had also acquired shares in the Fenway Sports Group with LRMR, among other things, and had thus become a co-owner of the Liverpool FC football club.
Canyon, with around 1,400 employees worldwide and a turnover of 416 million euros in 2020, manufactures racing bikes, triathlon bikes, mountain bikes and e-bikes, among other things. The manufacturer is heavily involved in professional sports and works with athletes such as racing cyclist Mathieu van der Poel and triathlete Jan Frodeno. Canyon also sells bikes to private customers through direct sales. The company's founder, Roman Arnold, is also a shareholder of the Koblenz-based manufacturer.
