CHRIS FROOME, POINT KING CAPITAL AND SKIP CAPITAL JOIN FORCES WITH FACTOR BIKES TO SUPPORT GLOBAL GROWTH STRATEGY

Substantial investment in the premium bike brand led by Point King Capital, Skip Capital and Chris Froome; Froome joins Board of DirectorsFactor Bikes and its parts and accessories subsidiary Black Inc (together “Factor/Black Inc”) has raised its latest round of funding from an investment consortium that includes professional cyclist Chris Froome, Sam McKay, Co-Founder of Point King Capital and Scott Farquhar, Co-Founder of Skip Capital.

Chris Froome and Sam McKay (representing Point King Capital and Skip Capital) will join Factor/Black Inc’s Board of Directors, while Founder and CEO Rob Gitelis will retain his position as majority shareholder.

The fundraising will support the business in driving its global growth strategy that will see continued investment in product, innovation and talent as well as global channel expansion. Factor/Black Inc recently announced it is looking to open a new retail facility in Melbourne as part of enhancing the direct-to-consumer experience and also signed on for another year as sponsor for the UCI World Tour professional cycling team, Israel Start-up Nation.

This transaction represents Chris Froome’s first investment in a bicycle company. The seven-time Grand Tour winner and four-time winner of the Tour de France will play an active role in providing strategic direction, especially with regards to product development and marketing/sponsorship decision-making.

Speaking from his Monaco base as he prepares for the remainder of the 2021 season, Chris shared his thoughts on what the cycling community can expect from his investment: “I’m really excited to be joining the Factor/Black Inc team. Over the past year, I’ve had a first-hand look at Factor/Black Inc’s technical and development prowess. I truly believe that they’re building something special, and I can’t wait to bring my racing experience and product understanding to help the Company continue to bring ground-breaking innovations to cyclists all over the world.”

Commenting on the announcement, Founder and CEO Rob Gitelis said; “We are genuinely excited to bring on new capital partners who will help Factor realise its potential. With Chris, Point King Capital and Skip Capital we have the ideal team to support and advise us on every aspect of our business as we enter a new, growth-oriented chapter. They all understand and support our mission to push boundaries and challenge the status-quo, which is critical.”

With regards to Froome, specifically, Gitelis continued, “As much as his physical abilities, Chris’ obsession with extracting every last ounce of performance from his equipment has played a key role in his becoming one of the greatest cyclists of all time. The fact that he chose to make his maiden bicycle company investment in Factor/Black Inc after just one season of racing on our products speaks volumes about his belief in what we’re doing. We will benefit greatly from his knowledge of both the product, and the peloton.”

Scott Farquhar, Co-Founder of Skip Capital spoke about their investment in Factor bikes; “I love cycling, so it’s a dream to be able to play a small part in one of the most innovative companies in this space. Rob is a wizard when it comes to building bicycles, and the team behind Factor are truly building something special.”

Sam McKay, Co-Founder of Point King Capital said; “Scott and I share a passion for innovation, technology and smart design and Factor is a brand that we have admired for some time for breaking new ground. Helping consumer brands accelerate growth in global markets is what we do at Point King Capital, and we see huge potential for Factor. I am excited to partner with Rob, Scott and Chris to support Factor in executing the ambitious global growth plan ahead.”

Factor/Black Inc was advised by KG Capital and Coglan Duffy + Co, and Point King Capital was advised by Ashurst and Ernst & Young on this transaction.

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