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A piece of Made in Italy history on two wheels, the bicycle that started with Fiorenzo Magni and that made Eddy Merckx and Giuseppe Saronni run, among others, was sold by the patron Ernesto Colnago to an Arab fund.
by P.Sol.
2 ‘reading
There has been talk of negotiations to sell Colnago bikes for a long time, with big names in global cycling candidates to buy, but the announcement has only come now, in the midst of the coronavirus era. A piece of the history of two wheels made in Italy, the bicycle that had started with Fiorenzo Magni and that had run Eddy Merckx and Giuseppe Saronni, among others, was sold by the patron Ernesto Colnago to an Arab fund.
To spot him, for an undisclosed amount, was Chimera Investments Llc, an Abu Dhabi fund that also owns the Uae team, which does not accidentally use bikes known around the world with the unmistakable club ace logo. The fund that focuses on expanding cycling in the Gulf area announced the closing of the deal.
Ernesto Colnago, who founded the company in Cambiago in 1954, maintains a small stake and in all likelihood will continue to follow production directly at the factory every morning. Making the boss lean towards selling to attract the world’s biggest brands was in all probability the disappearance of his wife, who was always by his side and, even more so, the recent one by his brother Paolo, Ernesto’s trusted shoulder in the factory.
In the coronavirus era, another piece of Italian craftsmanship of historical cycling, in which the bikes of the great champions were signed by the Italian two-wheeled “tailors”, therefore ends up abroad. Three years ago, another landmark brand, Pinarello, switched to L Catterton, a private equity fund linked to French luxury group LVMH.
Even in that case, like Colnago now, the sale had been justified with the aim of having the necessary financial means to support international development.
