Giant Acquires Stages Cycling for $20.1 Million

Giant Group, through its subsidiary SPIA Cycling, acquired Stages Cycling from Foundation Fitness for $20.1 million. A U.S. bankruptcy judge approved the purchase agreement, which had faced opposition from creditors and an inventor involved in a patent dispute with Stages.

April 2024: Stages lays off entire Staff

Stages Cycling and its associated companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Nebraska in June 2024, with the case later moving to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Denver. The acquisition includes Stages’ intellectual property, manufacturing facilities, product lines, and limited inventory. Giant Group, which has manufactured products for Stages in the past, will drop a lawsuit filed in Oregon over unpaid invoices as part of the agreement.

The acquisition will support Giant Group’s plan to create a comprehensive indoor and outdoor cycling ecosystem, enhance its data capabilities, and enter the commercial fitness market. SPIA Cycling plans to integrate Stages Cycling into its operations.

April 2024; Giant Sues Stages

Giant Group had previously made a stalking horse offer for Stages ahead of the bankruptcy auction. No other bidders came forward, allowing the court to approve Giant’s offer. The deal follows an earlier attempt by Giant to invest in Stages in 2022, which was not finalised.

The purchase faced objections from the unsecured creditors committee, which questioned the valuation of Stages’ remaining assets, and from Scott Radow, an inventor who claimed that Stages’ assets could not be sold without addressing his patent rights. Despite these objections, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved the sale.

Foundation Fitness remains in Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Take Out

The most likely outcome was always that Giant would end up owning Stages Cycling.

Stages power meters and indoor businesses are great additions to Giant’s portfolio, and Giant jointly worked with Stages to produce its Giant-branded bike computers,