Ghost announces it is shutting down for good after 33 years, becoming another victim of Accell’s crisis

Ghost, one of the most recognized German brands in mountain biking and for years a key player in the XCO World Cup, has announced the closure of its operations. The company has been unable to find an investor to ensure its continuity following the crisis of Accell Group and will liquidate its remaining bicycles before ceasing operations. The outcome comes just days after Haibike and Winora, also part of the group, managed to save themselves through a purchase operation.

Ghost will close after failing to find a buyer

Founded in 1993 in Waldsassen, Germany, Ghost faces the end of its business activity after 33 years linked to the bicycle sector and especially to MTB. The company has confirmed that there is no economically viable solution to maintain the business and that it will proceed with an orderly closure.

The decision was made known after the official opening of the insolvency proceedings of Ghost-Bikes GmbH on November 1 in the Schweinfurt Court. The company had requested to enter this procedure on August 5 along with other German companies of Accell Group, with the initial intention of finding new investors and preserving its activity.

However, the negotiations did not yield the expected results. According to the statement released by those responsible for the restructuring, none of the proposals received offered creditors better economic conditions than the liquidation of the stock.

RECOMENDADO

Haibike changes hands and survives: what happens now to warranties and technical support?

New Lapierre PXR Racing, the factory project that inherits the foundation of Ghost Factory Racing

“I don’t want to end up hating it”: Joey Pidcock retires from professional cycling at just 24

Tips to stay motivated to ride when cold weather, rain, and darkness set in

Thibau Nys returns to winning ways after two crashes as Lucinda Brand dominates the 2026 Koppenbergcross

Ghost will stop accepting individual orders and will sell all the bicycles it still has in its warehouses in a single lot to a distributor. Once this operation is completed, the company will cease its activity. At the time the bankruptcy proceedings were opened, the company still had 53 employees.

Martin Mucha, a lawyer from Grub Brugger and responsible for accompanying the restructuring process, lamented that the efforts to find an alternative did not allow the company to be saved. For his part, Joost van Schaik, representative of the Ghost management, acknowledged the impact of losing a historic brand with a consolidated customer community.

From dominating the XCO World Cup to disappearing from the professional circuit

The business closure marks the end of an era in which Ghost had already been losing prominence within competitive MTB.

For almost the last decade, the German brand had maintained a prominent presence in the cross-country World Cup through Ghost Factory Racing, a women's structure that included some of the best international XCO specialists, including Sina Frei, Anne Terpstra, Nicole Koller, and Caroline Bohé.

However, in early 2026, Accell Group carried out a reorganization of its brands that completely changed Ghost's role within the competition. The group decided to concentrate road, gravel, and cross-country activities in Lapierre, while Ghost would commercially focus on gravity and adventure disciplines.

This move marked the end of Ghost's sponsorship in the XCO World Cup. Its sports structure, including much of the technical staff and its riders, became part of the new Lapierre PXR Racing, officially presented in January as the heir to Ghost Factory Racing.

The change did not initially imply the disappearance of the team, but rather a redistribution of resources and responsibilities among the brands of the same group. But just a few months later, Accell's financial crisis also reached Lapierre, which in September suspended funding for PXR Racing and prematurely ended its XCO World Cup program.

Thus, a structure that had competed for years under the name Ghost ended up disappearing from the international circuit in its first season with the colors of Lapierre.

Haibike and Winora are saved while Ghost is left out of the operation

Just a few days ago, it was confirmed that Bike Tree GmbH, a company belonging to the Singaporean group Tri Star/DuTech, had reached an agreement to acquire the main assets of Haibike and Winora. The operation will allow both brands to remain in the market and retain part of their business and labor structure in Germany.

As we explained when analyzing the purchase of Haibike and Winora and the consequences of the Accell crisis for Ghost and Lapierre, the former group is being dismantled through various sales operations and judicial procedures that are leaving very different destinies for its brands.

While Haibike and Winora prepare for a new stage under DuTech's control, Ghost has not managed to find a buyer. Lapierre, for its part, continues to be immersed in its own judicial reorganization procedure in France, where it is trying to obtain the necessary financing to continue operating.

The closure of Ghost also reflects the consequences of a crisis that dates back to the transformation of the cycling market after the pandemic. Accell Group, predominantly acquired by the KKR fund in 2022, failed to regain its financial stability despite successive restructurings in 2024 and 2025. The drop in demand, high inventories, and price pressure ultimately led to the insolvency of numerous companies in the group.