Austria-based Woom, a company that manufactures bikes for children and teenagers, announced on Tuesday, December 27, that it has raised an undisclosed amount in funding from Jebsen Group and existing investor Bregal Unternehmerkapital.
Jebsen Group is a specialised marketing, investment, and distribution organisation that was founded in 1895. It is a family-owned private firm with more than 125 years of operation in Greater China. The firm helps its partners create market demand, produce sales, and establish connections with clients around the area. The Group’s four primary business segments are Motors, Beverage, Consumer, and Jebsen Capital, all of which operate under the Jebsen master brand.
Encouraging kids to love riding their bikes
Woom was founded in 2013 in a garage in Vienna by Marcus Ihlenfeld and Christian Bezdeka – both dads and both mad about bikes. The founders decided to create a bike for their children that would be precisely tailored to a child’s size and riding style.
Currently, the company is represented in 30 countries, including Austria, Germany and Switzerland as well as the Scandinavian countries, Spain, France and Italy. Woom also has a presence in the US and China.
In the past 10 years, the company claims to have reached an average annual growth rate of around 50 per cent and in 2021, the children’s bike experts achieved a turnover of $86M. Also in the same year, (2021), Woom established exclusive Europe-based production for the European market and rolled its 500,000th bike off the production line.
Besides the founders, Woom’s US founder Mathias Ihlenfeld, funds advised by Bregal Unternehmerkapital, and others have invested in the company.
Capital utilisation
Since its inception in 2013, Woom claims to have witnessed steady growth both locally and internationally. “With the addition of Jebsen Group, we have gained an additional strategic investor whose strong industry knowledge will help us to open up further markets with strong growth potential,” says Woom co-CEO Paul Fattinger.
Woom sees Jebsen Capital as a valuable strategic partner due to its expertise in market entry and expansion in the Asian area. In the long run, Jebsen will own around 15 per cent of the Austrian company.
Brief about Bregal Unternehmerkapital
Bregal Unternehmerkapital (BU) is a family-owned investment company located in Munich and Milan. The BU funds back mid-sized businesses with headquarters in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Northern Italy. BU says it seeks to partner with market leaders and hidden champions with strong management teams and outbreak potential.
Since its inception in 2015, the funds managed by BU have invested over €2.6B in more than 90 businesses. It claims to have supported over 25,000 employees and collaborated with business owners and families to grow, internationalise, and digitise their operations while helping them in generating sustainable value in a responsible manner.
