Ardian, a private investment house, has signed an agreement to invest in YT Industries, a global high-performance mountain bike brand. Ardian expansion will invest in YT together with the company founders Markus Flossmann and Jacob Fatih – alongside the management team. The management team, led by former Amazon manager Sam Nicols who joined the company in 2020, and the founder and CVO Flossmann, supported by Fatih’s business incubator Crealize, will focus on building out the company’s product portfolio.

Flossmann, co-founder and CVO of YT Industries, said, “We at YT are passionate mountain bikers, and we develop our bikes with heart and soul. Thanks to an outstanding team, YT has become one of the world’s most admired brands in the mountain bike space. Together with Ardian as our partner, we are looking forward to taking the company to the next level by expanding our business internationally and coming even closer to our customers. To us it is critical to stay true to our brand and stick to our core values, which made us successful: focus on quality, innovation, and our community. We are excited for the growth that this new partnership heralds and leading the company into the next chapter of its young history.”

Fatih, co-founder and shareholder of YT Industries, said, “It has nearly been 15 years since my friend and Co-Founder Markus Flossmann and I built our first mountain bike to our own specifications and the rest is history. Our enthusiasm for sport and entrepreneurship are still what drive us every day – and this attitude has made YT one of the globally leading brands in professional mountain biking. We are fully convinced that with our new partner Ardian we will become even stronger, and our brand will continue to inspire both existing and new customers.”

Nicols, CEO of YT Industries, added, “Markus and the team have done a great job in reinventing the mountain bike experience both in terms of product development and experience. We are already moving full speed ahead with our new strategy of increased customer focus underpinned by data-driven decision making, which will help us become even more successful in offering the best products at the right time with a seamless customer experience. I strongly believe that with Ardian as a partner with a strong international platform, Markus’ product and design expertise, and our new focus on operational excellence and e-commerce, we will accelerate taking YT to the next level.”

Dirk Wittneben, head of Ardian expansion DACH, added, “The combination of one of the most popular performance MTB brands and the underlying structural growth of the international MTB markets provide significant growth potential for YT. The company’s innovative and ambitious founders and management team combine strong passion for the product, a highly successful marketing approach as well as an outstanding online direct-to-consumer distribution model. We are thrilled to be able to support Sam, Markus, and the wider management team to help them achieve their envisaged growth path.”