For several weeks, and in particular the opening of the transfer market on August 1, rumors have been circulating in Belgium about a possible sale of the Soudal Quick-Step structure. The hypothesis of a takeover by Ineos Grenadiers resulted from this. Where is she from ? Is it possible ? Analysis of one of the hot issues of the end of the year.
By Romain Bougourd and Titouan Lallemand
A year ago, no one would have imagined such a debate. The Ineos formation was part of the top 3 in the world and Quick Step had just won the Vuelta or La Doyenne thanks to Remco Evenepoel. Only then, since then, several events have occurred and have shaken up certainties, until the rumor of a merger intervenes.
Why this debate?
This debate has arisen and gained momentum in recent weeks for two main reasons. Last July, the Dutch daily Algemeen Dagblad argued that Patrick Lefevere, general manager of the Soudal Quick-Step team was seeking to get rid of the formation founded by himself in 2003 under the name Quick Step-Davitamon. If he more or less denied this information in the process, this information made its course. Especially since the opening of the transfer market on August 1 has reinforced the subject. With many departures recorded, in particular of major riders like Fabio Jakobsen, SOQ currently only has 20 riders under contract in 2024. This remains a lot next to the 15 cyclists who form the Ineos Grenadiers squad next year. Between them, the formations therefore have 35 riders, barely more than the maximum authorized for a World Tour formation (30). Finally, add to that the rumors of a departure from Remco Evenepoel to the British, the aborted signing of Tobias Foss at Ineos or even a possible departure from Luke Plapp, and you get a hot topic that swells more and more. But is a sale of Soudal QuickStep possible?
What does the Soudal Quick Step entity look like financially?
Unlike some peloton teams like Uno X or Ineos Grenadiers, Soudal QuickStep is not owned by its sponsors. The team is actually a legal entity called Decolef Lux SARL, domiciled in Strassen in Luxembourg. This entity, which achieved a turnover of 24.3 million euros in 2021, is the property of the holding company “Pro Cycling SARL”. Patrick Lefévère, founder and director of the company, holds 20% of the shares, and the remaining 80% is held by the Czech businessman Zdenek Bakala. The latter, who is today one of the largest fortunes in the Czech Republic, owns a varied portfolio of companies: Karbon Invest (coal mining based in Ostrava), the weekly Respect, the liquor manufacturer Becherovka or the catering company Hartig. In short, a Nice range of investments. Bakana invested in the company in 2011 with the stated goal of earning new Monuments and numerous achievements. Despite our request to sources who have followed the case, the amount of the investment at the time has not been disclosed. But the investor profile hides another objective, that of realizing a capital gain on resale after a certain number of years. And in the industry M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions, or mergers and acquisitions in plain English), investment cycles are often 5-10 years before reselling an acquired entity. The timing therefore seems perfect to sell his business, especially since Ineos Grenadiers has the right profile to take over from Bakana and Lefévère.
Ineos Grenadier is a brand of 4×4 off-road vehicle from the Ineos group. More specifically, it is a brand of the “Ineos Automotive” division, one of the many branches of the petrochemical group Ineos, which generates more than 80 billion euros in turnover. Above all, since 2018 the group has embarked on a strategy of massive investment in sport to promote its brand: in cycling therefore, but also in football (OGC Nice), sailing or Formula 1. The group is a follower of MY, as shown by the purchase of the Team Sky structure in 2018. While the British team has won 12 GTs since 2012, it no longer counts among its ranks a top rider capable of winning a three-week race against Vingegaard, Pogacar, Roglic or Evenepoel. The acquisition of Soudal QuickStep, team of the Belgian prodigy, would therefore be a good way to bounce back.
What scenarios possible?
The first scenario to imagine is nothing but a simple status quo. Ineos Grenadiers simply need to slim down to rebuild a younger workforce. As for Soudal Quick Step, the Belgian team will surely announce the extensions of Van Lerberghe, Sénéchal or Vansevenant and continue to recruit around Remco Evenepoel. And finally, as planned, we will have Quick Step and Ineos in the peloton in 2024.
The second scenario, the one discussed in this article, is therefore a merger of the two teams. In this scenario, there are several scenarios: that of a Joint-Venture or a pure and hard merger (the two entities merge by providing a similar budget to form a single entity). It would then be necessary to reduce all duplicate positions (staff, administrative), align with supplier contracts, etc. An unlikely scenario, however. The second, on the other hand, would be the acquisition of Soudal QuickStep by Ineos Grenadiers. Lefévère and Bakala would resell their shares to the Ineos group after the establishment of an enterprise value. For this, several methods can be applied (multiply the net result by a specific coefficient, calculate the assets and liabilities, market value, etc.). During questions from the press, Lefévère mentioned an amount of 15 million euros, a plausible value a priori given the finances of the structure. But here too, this scenario is not the most probable, as has explained the Belgian boss last July : “ He [Zdenek Bakana] is more interested in someone who would buy shares and make a capital increase to bring in a few million euros “. No question therefore of a total sale of the structure for merger, even if Lefévère remains attentive to potential buyers (he would even have met five, without this being followed up).
Which brings us to our third scenario, the most credible, that of Ineos taking a stake in Decolef Lux SARL. In this case, several possibilities are to be considered. At 68, Patrick Lefévère could decide to sell his shares to Ineos. But Ineos can also become part of the shareholder structure by making a capital contribution from the company and recovering shares which depend on the percentage that the new shareholder has contributed to the total value of the company (example: if the company is worth 15 million euros, and Ineos invested 15 million euros, then he would own 50% of the shares). In this scenario, the two teams would continue to exist, but with a common shareholder. This model is already present in football (like the Red Bull group which owns the clubs of Salzburg, Leipzig and New York) or in Formula 1 with the same Red Bull group. Ineos would therefore have complete freedom to transfer riders between the two teams.
Only question: is it authorized to hold shares in two cycling teams of the World Tour division? At this stage and despite our research, no such article is stipulated in the UCI regulations. If Leipzig and Salzburg were able to participate in the Champions League in football, this is not the case in other sports, such as in rugby. In any case, it would be a great first in 21st century cycling. Because as Remco Evenepoel said to our colleagues from Red Lantern“ cycling is not football “. Or at least not yet…
