USWE Sports AB Acquires American Motorcycle Soft Luggage Company Giant Loop LLC

USWE?Sports AB,?a technology?award winning and publicly traded backpack company based in Malm?, Sweden,?has?acquired Bend-based Giant Loop LLC, a successful powersports brand known?for its innovative off-road motorcycle soft luggage designs. The?purchase?agreement was signed today, and the transaction is scheduled to close on July 1.

The acquisition?provides USWE with a strong position in the premium segment for panniers,?saddlebags, tank bags and dry bags for the off-road?powersports market. Giant?Loop’s Bend headquarters offers USWE a USA base of operations for further?expansion in North America. Products from?both companies are expected to reach?new customers from overlap in each company’s pre-existing customer bases, and?Giant Loop′s products will?be offered through USWE′s global distribution?network.

Armadillo Bag LLC, a?new automotive brand created by Giant Loop’s founder, is also included in the?acquisition. Its focus on international overland?travel provides new markets?and sales channels for all three companies’ products.

Giant Loop LLC was founded?in 2008 by owner Harold Olaf Cecil. The company designs and manufactures a portfolio?of premium products with?dual sport and adventure motorcycles as a primary?focus and UTVs, snow bikes and snowmobiles representing crossover powersports?markets.?Product design and development and all other primary business?functions are based in Bend, and production is outsourced to USA facilities, as?well?as factories in Asia. Sales are generated through an omni-channel model,?where the split between D2C and B2B is approximately 50/50.

Cecil will continue to?lead the company for at least two years, focusing on the best integration?between USWE and Giant Loop. He will also be one?of USWE′s largest shareholders.

“Giant Loop is a?perfect partner for USWE in the USA,” says Jacob Westerberg, CEO USWE Sports. “We?started our companies in the same time?period, and our founders met early in?each companies’ history. We share similar company values, as well as product?design and development?vision. Our two product lines also perfectly match each?other, where USWE focuses on the rider and Giant Loop focuses on the bike gear.?So far,?Giant Loop has been developing soft luggage for off-road and adventure?motorcycles. However, we see great potential in developing bags and?luggage?also for e-bikes, mountain bikes and gravel bikes. The barrier between a?motorcycle and a bicycle is getting more and more blurry, and we?would like to?provide the best available gear for the new bikes and the new riders. Giant?Loop headquarters are in Bend, Oregon, an ideal location?for USWE and our focus?for the coming years, whether it will be on the bike, on foot or on skis. Together,?we have already identified several?synergies in sales, distribution and?manufacturing and we are looking forward to implementing and benefitting from?them. I am convinced that this?acquisition will massively strengthen both Giant?Loop and USWE.”

“I am excited about?the transaction with USWE Sports,” Cecil says.??“For me, the acquisition represents the?culmination of 15 years of my life’s?work. The excellent fit of our markets,?brands and business cultures truly compliments both company’s strengths. We’ve?used, sold and promoted?USWE products ourselves for many years at Giant Loop?already, and we look forward to collaborating with such an innovative, category?leading?brand and company.”

“Uswe” (pronounced?YOU-SWII) is Swedish?slang for “kick ass.” The company is highly regarded for its “No Bouncing Monkey”?patented harness?technology for performance backpacks developed for high impact action sports,?such as off-road motorcycling, mountain biking, trail running, skiing?and?snowmobiling. The innovative NDM harness technology makes the packs 100% bounce?free in action and it allows the user the freedom to?move and breathe without?cramping its style.

The team behind USWE?grew up riding off-road motorcycles in the Swedish countryside. Out of?frustration with backpack designs of the day, the?founders purchased a used?industrial sewing machine in 2007 and began creating their own designs — a?story that parallels the creation and?development of Giant Loop.

For more, please visit?www.giantloopmoto.com?and?www.uswe.com.