Italian bicycle brand Pinarello was valued by market experts at €250 million as private equity firm L Capital considers selling an 80% stake.

Fausto Pinarello and other family members sold the Treviso-based brand to L Catterton, an equity firm affiliated with luxury giant LVMH, for a reported €90 million in 2016.

Cicli Pinarello was founded by Fausto's father, Giovanni, in 1952 with the prize money from finishing last overall in the Giro d'Italia and winning the black jersey known as the "Maglia Nera."

Pinarello soon began supplying bikes to professional teams and became a globally known brand after Miguel Indurain and his Banesto team dominated the Tour de France in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Pinarello now sponsors Ineos Grenadiers, and their high-end machines have helped Egan Bernal, Geraint Thomas, Chris Froome, and Bradley Wiggins win the Tour de France. Filippo Ganna has set hour records and individual Pursuit world records on his innovative Pinarello Bolide bike.

Italian business media first reported in December that Pinarello was for sale, but now Fausto Pinarello has admitted that he may be joining forces with new investors to buy back the brand.

Pinarello retained 19.79% of the company when L. Catterton bought Pinarello and is now the brand's chairman and brand guardian. Other family members chose to leave the company.

"I am thinking carefully about it," Fausto Pinarello was reported in the Italian business media as saying he would stay on.

"It is normal for an investment fund to want to leave after six years. I am considering the idea, along with my partners who believe in the project. I think we can do it well. The bicycle sector is a viable business and we are happy with what we do. We want to continue to pass that on to future generations."

Pinarello has seen a significant increase in sales in recent years, despite the COVID-19 craze. According to the company's official records, Pinarello's sales in 2015 were 50 million euros. That reached almost 90 million euros in 2022, a 24% increase from 2021, when sales were 78.5 million euros. Gross operating profit rose 30% to 9.38 million euros in 2021, with assets reportedly valued at 50.4 million euros and financial liabilities at 29.4 million euros.

According to Italian reports, Fausto Pinarello has only six weeks to make a final offer to L. Catterton as part of an exit agreement stipulated in 2016.

The U.S.-based L. Catterton can decide whether to accept the offer or if another potential buyer makes a better offer.

According to reports in December, Accell, whose brands include Batavus, Koga, Lapierre, and Raleigh, may also be interested in acquiring Pinarello.