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I thought it was breathtaking that the riding images in the press release feature a rider with "YT MOB" pants and helmet. It's sort of like taking your best friend's recent ex out to a seafood dinner. It's not illegal, but it sure looks bad.
Didn't realize they were still using the name and likeless of their ex-athletes on the site, too. Yikes.
Seafood dinner 🤣
In the podcast Markus went on and on about how the old YT spent too much on systems meant for companies much larger than YT and they needed to cancel all those contracts (https://builtwith.com/yt-industries.com).
I'm surprised the site is still online at this point. You'd think someone would have pulled the plug by now (should have done it himself for the athletes sake).
I mean I could understand using (that word is NOT figurative) the sole remaining Stockholm syndrome rider... But the others?
In their shoes I'd be looking at some legal interventions/revenge, as that impacts on their own personal branding.
my guess: just as they did it in the early days, they are gonna collect the money from the 50 buyers AND THEN order all the parts and then ship the bikes on a later date
Man if there was ever a guy who I'd believe bought shit designed and priced for companies in the S&P 500 for his little bike brand, it would be Markus. I am not inclined to believe it was the "new investors" steering the ship on that one.
There is also a solid chance that they had already ordered the bikes, and a factory already had these assembled waiting for payment. To smooth over relationships with past vendors they are selling these bikes cheap to generate some cash flow and pay for new models.
Seems like something similar happened with Kona's BOGO sale, and Carbonada selling old nukeproof frames.
I just wish we could know to what extent this entire rug pull was planned. Well before the insolvency, maybe even before the predatory flash sale. As things go on, it seems he was quite prepared to do everything necessary when the time came. But yeah naturally it could be not dissimilar from the bosch Decoys. Already planned and ordered. May as well promote them asap. I'm quite sure the previous uncaged models were not limited to 50 units. So... Yeah, were these bikes gonna be canceled? Did they basically decide 'ok lets do 50 and if we move 50 its proof we can continue' (even though the prices are outright unsustainable even with a leaner business. So it's just proof of concept if anything.
dude: he’s out! Flossmann is OUT.
YT?
no not never, you should too
fuck is wrong with you guys? He’s OH YOU TEE OUT!
What do you mean "Flossmann is out"?
he’s a sleazeball who should enjoy no success in the bike world, not deserving of support, on the naughty list, out!
little bit early for drinking, don’t you think buddy
It’s always noon somewhere in the world!
also true!
and to be clear, i fully support owl-x‘s take regarding m. flossmann‘s character
Remember, it's not too early to start if you don't stop the night before..
This news might fit in this thread, somehow?
Mips acquires Koroyd, strengthening world-leading helmet safety technology portfolio with complementary technology
Mips AB (publ), a world-leader in helmet-based safety, has signed an agreement to acquire all shares in Koroyd SARL and SCP George TFE (together “Koroyd”). Koroyd is based in Monaco and is a pioneer in the development of advanced impact protection technology for head and body safety, which is complementary to Mips’ technology. During the financial year 2024/2025, Koroyd had sales of approximately EUR 11 million with an adjusted EBITDA of approximately EUR 5 million. The purchase price amounts to EUR 40 million on a cash and debt-free basis, with an additional earn-out of up to EUR 25 million if certain performance targets are met, corresponding to a multiple of 8x EBITDA and 13x EBITDA, respectively. The acquisition is expected to be financed through available cash and a new credit facility.
“The acquisition of Koroyd marks another important step in Mips’ long-term strategy to strengthen our position as the leader in helmet safety. This acquisition positions the group uniquely in the market and enables interesting entries into other adjacent product areas. The acquisition is in line with our strategy and also serves as a springboard into adjacent product safety areas”, says Max Strandwitz, CEO and President of Mips.
“The brands will continue to operate separately under their respective strong leadership teams, but we jointly see exciting synergies, especially in product development and marketing, as well as in the strength of combining knowledge from two fantastic innovation-driven companies. This acquisition expands our offering in advanced protection solutions and helps us continue to drive the development of safer products for consumers and professional users”, adds Max Strandwitz.
“From the beginning, Koroyd has been built on a culture of purposeful innovation, solving real problems with solutions that genuinely improve protection whilst putting the user experience first. In Mips, we have found a partner who shares that ethos entirely”, says John Lloyd, Founder of Koroyd.
“Together, I am convinced that this combination will accelerate our diversification strategy. Our technologies are naturally complementary and together form a platform that strengthens partners, delivers on the strong demand for both brands and expands what is possible in protection. Above all, it’s the shared values, collaborative mindset and long-term vision that make this partnership a natural evolutionary step. This shared foundation makes the future extremely exciting, and I couldn’t be more enthusiastic to be part of building it”, adds John Lloyd.
About Koroyd
Koroyd was founded in 2010 around the mission of engineering a safer tomorrow. Today its technology portfolio has diversified into a multi-dimensional energy management platform that spans head protection, body and hand protection in verticals that include sport, motorsport, defence, industrial safety and child restraint systems.
Koroyd’s tireless pursuit of smarter, safer and more sustainable protective solutions underpins its 99 granted patents and award-winning innovations. From its original, transformative impact absorption technology to the leading-edge safety solutions under development in its state-of-the-art laboratory, Koroyd offers scientifically researched, rigorously tested and user validated integrations to brand partners, with optional full-scope design and development consultancy. Since its incorporation 15 years ago, Koroyd has achieved continuous growth year after year, reinforcing its position as the leader in impact protection. Koroyd is engineered for advanced protection and designed for peace of mind.
Read more about Koroyd on koroyd.com.
The transaction
Mips AB has signed a binding, conditional agreement whereby Mips acquires 100 percent of the shares in Koroyd.
The purchase price amounts to EUR 40 million on a cash and debt-free basis, with the possibility of an additional earn-out of up to EUR 25 million if certain performance targets are met. The purchase price corresponds to a multiple of 8x Koroyd’s adjusted EBITDA and 13x Koroyd’s adjusted EBITDA, respectively, for the twelve months ending September 30, 2025. The acquisition is expected to contribute positively to Mips’ earnings per share, EBIT margin, and sales growth on a short and long-term basis.
The transaction is expected to be financed through a combination of available cash and a new credit facility.
Completion of the acquisition is conditional upon Mips entering into a financing agreement regarding the aforementioned credit facility and subject to certain local approval procedures. The transaction is expected to be completed during December 2025.
Digital press and investor meeting
Mips invites investors, analysts, and journalists to a digital meeting on Friday, December 12, 2025 at 3:00 pm. CEO and President, Max Strandwitz, and CFO, Karin Rosenthal, will present Koroyd and how the acquisition fits into Mips’ long-term strategy. The presentation will be available at mipscorp.com.
To participate in the digital meeting, please register through one of the following links:
Webcast: https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/4vo9bkss
Telephone conference for participators: https://register-conf.media-server.com/register/BI08502497aeb24981883218e42b7614ec
I think Jeff's take from the pod regarding YT is a good lens to view this situation. You don't have to like the brand or Markus. However, they are back in the game and will be making bikes. Therefore, it would seem in regards to the purpose of this thread, looking at how they might operate/ what their plans are/ how vendors will respond to them is an effective lens to analyze the situation with. Again, as Jeff said in the pod speculating on this situation is interesting but there are real world consequences for many employees, consumers, and athletes so separating emotion from our analysis can be difficult.
Vendors will do business with them but with no terms is the general sentiment. Hence my comment about them perhaps already having these Tues already in some stage of production and trying to smooth things over with a vendor for future projects.
Do I think YT offers a cutting edge product? No
Do I support how Markus has handled this situation with riders, consumers, and staff? No
Will YT continue to make bikes and potentially have impacts on the market due to pricing? Probably yes.
This is very interesting to me. Not only in so far as the protection technology sector becoming molopolized by an early leader... But also did MIPS just throw 40m cash in hand at a competitor? Willy nilly just like that? That's an alarming strategy (and execution) for a company like that. Makes me think what other tech are they willing to gobble up to ensure the profits of safety go into their pockets and no one elses... (Regardless of whether it leads to the best safety products or not)
Also, orrr is it just more of a marketing position with the onset of RLS? I guess there are more applications and movement in the padding business which I assume did not exist under MIPS original tech/direction... Maybe it's a genius move if RLS actually replaces MIPS going forward, so MIPS is just jumping into the pads business before their helmet business starts bleeding dry. I know a sh!t ton of new pads seem to use the koroyd tech (as opposed to d30?). That's another question I guess. Is koroyd already supplanting d30?
hopefully they don't just bin it like they did with Fox Fluid System, which was safer!
What's that? Never heard of it, and when I googled "Fox Fluid System helmet" I got nothing.
It was what they created themselves used when that last gen of Fox RPC was first released. I think it was for a couple years before being bought out and swapped to MIPS. Let me see what I can find.
here Is this for starters
https://www.pinkbike.com/news/mips-acquires-fluid-inside-rotational-imp…
https://themtblab.com/2019/05/fluid-inside-and-fox-racing-launch-new-impact-technology-for-helmets.html
Is this similar to POCs SPIN technology? It was gel like pads. And I think MIPS didn't like it and then POC helmets went back to MIPS.
problem was that fluid version was 200 grams heavier than the mips version, more like the weight of a full moto helmet.
It's a weird acquisition to me. From a helmet standpoint, Koroyd is kinda crappy. It breathes terribly and tests badly in impact tests compared to multi-density/type foam. From a pads standpoint, it is one of my least favorite inserts (it's thin, plastic-y feeling, and is only CE 1) - Rheon is my favorite insert material from feel and certification level. The Fox pads I have with Koroyd feel like barely 1 step above a leg warmer.
RE: MIPS acquisition of Koroyd
I don't have enough expertise around all the technologies in the space to comment on the quality of acquisition from an IP/product perspective. What I can say is this is great intel from a valuation multiple perspective and helps give a teeny tiny indication as to what M&A might look like for a company in the outdoor industry going forward.
Those suggesting that this feels rich, on initial glance I agree. But again, we don't know what they have in the lab, what patents might be associated with it (can be googled I suppose), what partnerships maybe haven't been announced (or we don't know about) and what the ven diagram of overlap between the two businesses really looks like. Plus, there could be some key hires here they wanted to make.
So yeah, without diving in and really peeling the onion (which is likely not possible) to understand all the ins and outs here, its probably impossible to give this a grade. Again, love the data point, though!
nope same stuff as before, just called mips integra now. imho, mips is mostly just a licensing company
Could it be an acquisition play for the defence sector? D3O have a military helmet liner that tests very well for repeated percussion incidents ("breacher syndrome"). Could MIPS be looking at that, or other sports (America football as a good example) where there's growing attention to long term concussion effect - and the financial payouts involved?
oh sh!t you're right. Rheon is the tech I was recalling is popping up in everything now. not Koroyd 😬 in that case I'm not quite sure where 40 million for a competitor that shouldn't worry you takes you. truly i am not a business guru to see the underlying genius in this move lol. dunno. i feel like mips turned into a money printer and would do just fine cruising along without changes. seems like when you've already 'won' the market, you can't stop trying to win even more or something.
oh i don't know if we already went over this update... but YT is reporting to have sold out of its 50 LE Tues models, with a healthy 'yall crazy for this one' narrative. and i don't know what to make of it. only thing it makes me think is 'wow, some people know how to market to these audiences really well and people line up to gobble up the contrived hype'
i know it's not really compelling or surprising, but i think the talking point is... can you simply manufacture hype enough to get back on track (in today's industry)? or does this feel more like a 'theyre already dead, they just dont know it yet' maneuver with no long term sustainability in terms of more normalized models with actual margins to thrive off of?
I suspect the demographics of this forum are less susceptible to hype on average... But everyone can get caught up in the moment on occasion.
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