MONTREAL, Oct. 22, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - Cannondale, a premium brand of Dorel Industries (TSX: DII.B, DII.A), announced today that it has acquired the majority ownership of Cannondale Pro Cycling and Brixia Sports. "This further investment underlines our respect and the value for the accomplishments of the Cannondale team and recognizes the many benefits this association has brought to the Cannondale brand," stated Dorel President and CEO, Martin Schwartz. "Additionally, it comes on the heels of our acquisition of the Caloi brand in Brazil and our intention to market Cannondale throughout Latin America."
Cannondale will maintain its focus on bringing the excitement of pro cycling to fans around the world. It will continue to develop a stable of young, talented international riders with a flair for winning, including Peter Sagan, the winner of two consecutive Tour de France Green Jerseys, as well as rising stars like Moreno Moser, Elia Viviani and newly crowned U23 World Champion Matej Mohoric, just to name a few.
"2013 has been an amazing year for Cannondale Pro Cycling athletes and for the awareness of the Cannondale brand," said Bob Baird, CEO, Cannondale Sports Unlimited. "We're looking forward to this next step with the team. We're passionate about pro cycling and furthering the sport with integrity and have a vision of building the most admired pro cycling team in the peloton. We're confident the team will be extremely competitive in races all over the world and will continue to create unparalleled awareness for the Cannondale brand. We have seen an increase in our market share of Cannondale since beginning this association and expect this to continue."
Cannondale began a relationship with Brixia Sport in 2007 as the technical sponsor for the Liquigas Pro Cycling Team. In 2010, Cannondale became a co-sponsor of the Liquigas-Cannondale Team and became title sponsor in 2013 with the creation of Cannondale Pro Cycling.
With this added investment, Dorel remains fully committed to the team. Discussions with Tinkoff Credit Systems have been terminated.
Since 2007, the team has won three Grand Tours including the Giro d'Italia in 2007 and 2010 and the Vuelta a Espana in 2010. During that time, they've also won three Tour de France jerseys, including the 2009 Polka Dot and the 2012 and 2013 Green Jersey along with countless prestigious individual races. Throughout, the team has ridden the race-proven line of Cannondale bikes including the SuperSix, Slice, Slice RS, Synapse and the "Best Bike in the World," the SuperSix EVO.
Profile
Dorel Industries Inc. (TSX: DII.B, DII.A) is a world class juvenile products and bicycle company. Dorel creates style and excitement in equal measure to safety, quality and value. The Company's lifestyle leadership position is pronounced in both its Juvenile and Bicycle categories with an array of trend-setting products. Dorel's powerfully branded products include Safety 1st, Quinny, Cosco, Maxi-Cosi and Bébé Confort in Juvenile, as well as Cannondale, Schwinn, GT, Mongoose, Caloi, IronHorse and SUGOI in Recreational/Leisure. Dorel's Home Furnishings segment markets a wide assortment of both domestically produced and imported furniture products, principally within North America. Dorel has annual sales of US$2.6 billion and employs 6,300 people in facilities located in twenty-four countries worldwide.
Caution Regarding Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements included in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Except as may be required by Canadian securities laws, Dorel does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Forward-looking statements, by their very nature, are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties and are based on several assumptions which give rise to the possibility that actual results could differ materially from Dorel's expectations expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements and that the objectives, plans, strategic priorities and business outlook may not be achieved. As a result, Dorel cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will materialize. Forward-looking statements are provided in this press release for the purpose of giving information about Management's current expectations and plans and allowing investors and others to get a better understanding of Dorel's operating environment. However, readers are cautioned that it may not be appropriate to use such forward-looking statements for any other purpose.
Forward-looking statements made in this press release are based on a number of assumptions that Dorel believed were reasonable on the day it made the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements include: general economic conditions; changes in product costs and supply channel; foreign currency fluctuations; customer and credit risk including the concentration of revenues with few customers; costs associated with product liability; changes in income tax legislation or the interpretation or application of those rules; the continued ability to develop products and support brand names; changes in the regulatory environment; continued access to capital resources and the related costs of borrowing; changes in assumptions in the valuation of goodwill and other intangible assets and subject to dividends being declared by the Board of Directors, there can be no certainty that Dorel's Dividend Policy will be maintained. These and other risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements are discussed in Dorel's annual MD&A and Annual Information Form filed with the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities. The risk factors outlined in the previously mentioned documents are specifically incorporated herein by reference.
Dorel cautions readers that the risks described above are not the only ones that could impact it. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to Dorel or that Dorel currently deems to be immaterial may also have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Given these risks and uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results.
Except as otherwise indicated, forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any non-recurring or other unusual items or of any dispositions, mergers, acquisitions, other business combinations or other transactions that may be announced or that may occur after the date hereof. The financial impact of these transactions and non-recurring and other unusual items can be complex and depends on the facts particular to each of them. Dorel therefore cannot describe the expected impact in a meaningful way or in the same way Dorel presents known risks affecting the business.
SOURCE: Dorel Industries Inc.
MaisonBrison Communications
Rick Leckner
(514) 731-0000
Dorel Industries Inc.
Jeffrey Schwartz
(514) 934-3034
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