For Filipino motorcycle enthusiasts and riders, Italian motorcycle protective clothing maker, Dainese, is perhaps best known to be Valentino Rossi’s racing leathers.
Just recently, the brand was sold for a whopping EUR 630-million to Carlyle Group, equivalent to roughly PHP 36.4-billion.
Carlyle Group is an investment firm that is headquartered in Washington, D.C., USA.
History of Dainese
For those who are not familiar, Dainese (pronounced as dye-ee-neh-zeh), was founded by Lino Dainese in 1972 when he was just 20 years old. At the time, there weren’t many brands or companies that specialized in motorcycle protective clothing and Lino was one of the few who pioneered the industry.
Lino Dainese
Since then, the company has been closely associated with motorcycle racing, which also helped its product development that focused on safety, performance, and ergonomics.
Dainese also owns the Italian helmet brand, AGV, which it acquired in 2007. In 2014, the Dainese Group was acquired by Bahrain-based Investcorp, for a reported value of EUR 130-million.
Lino Dainese still holds a minority stake at the company, even after the acquisition by Carlyle Group.
Valentino Rossi suiting up with his Dainese gear
With Carlyle Group at the helm, which now also effectively owns AGV and motorcycle boot maker, TCX, from the sale of Dainese, the brand looks to further expand its market to China and the US by building up distribution and sales in those two key world markets.
Carlyle Group also has significant investments in Hertz (car rental company), Dunkin’ Donuts, United Defense and many more.
