By now, you've probably heard the news that Dainese just got sold. Again. And that maybe, just maybe, the purchase price was an astonishing €1, which is about US $1.15 at the time of writing. And maybe you've thought to yourself, "That can't possibly be right. What's going on here?"
As usual, there's a bunch more to this story than just the admittedly very sensational headline that one of the world's premier high-end motorcycle gear manufacturers (and let's not forget, they also make skiing and equestrian gear, too) was sold for the kind of minuscule amount you might even have in your pocket right now.
You may recall that private equity firm the Carlyle Group first purchased the Dainese group back in 2022. Prior to that sale, Dainese had been a private, family-owned company. Under the terms of that deal, Dainese founder Lino Dainese would keep a small amount of equity in the Group, but would no longer own it outright. Incidentally, for motorcycle folks, the Dainese Group also includes bootmaker TCX and helmet maker AGV, and not only the Dainese brand.
