Merckx to sell the family business
Eddy Merckx Carbon 3XM. Photo copyright Roadcycling.com.
News on Friday from Sportwereld.be that Eddy Merckx will be selling the shares of his great bicycle manufacturing company and retire. Eddy is selling the majority shares in the business to Sobradis, a Belgian holding company. Eddy will retain his minority shares and remain active in the business as an advisor to the new CEO, Pieter Vansynghel and COO Sven Goeminne.
You would wonder what about Axel – why doesn’t he take over the business? Apparently he is in Canada about to embark on running Lance Armstrong’s development team.
According to cyclingnews.com, Eddy says:
“If you’ve built something yourself, it’s always painful to say goodbye to it. But I had no other choice, because I do not have a successor who can take over the plant.”
“I’ve played with the idea of doing something quieter. I’ve been working since I was 17 – first as a cyclist, then in 1980 in the bicycle factory. The daily management gradually began to weigh on me.”
You can’t blame the guy for wanting to take a break. However, as with all acquisitions, I really hope that this is not the end of the road for the Eddy Merckx brand? Eddy Merckx will alsways be a legend. I just hope one way in which his legend will continue is through the manufacturer of his bikes.
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Chris Moran
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