YT Industries has suspended most of its operations and released the majority of its employees as the German mountain bike brand undergoes insolvency proceedings, CEO and founder, Markus Flossman confirmed in a statement.
The company entered into self-administration in July after its main shareholder, a private equity investor, announced it would no longer finance the business. This left YT three months to secure a new backer, the company said in the statement.
“Unfortunately, the offers we received were an absolute joke and not worth considering,” Flossman said.
“That’s why I decided to buy the company back myself. The creditors’ committee has already approved my offer, and we are now in the process of finalising the contracts to relaunch the business under the new setup. As you can imagine, this is anything but a small undertaking, both financially and in terms of effort.”
Flossman confirmed that most staff had been released, though a small team remains in place to handle customer inquiries and process orders "to ensure that no work is performed by employees that the old company would no longer be able to pay for."
“We hope to conclude the negotiations as quickly as possible to minimise the impact on our customers,” he added.
Flossman also stressed that the situation affects only YT Industries GmbH in Germany. “Our U.S. subsidiary is not affected, business there continues as usual, and there are no restrictions,” he said.
YT had previously blamed its financial struggles on the post-Covid market downturn, which left many bike brands with unsold inventory and forced heavy discounting.
“While customers scored deals, small brands like us were pushed to the limit,” Flossman said in a video released earlier this year, describing the situation as a “brutal discount war for survival.”
Since returning as CEO in 2024, he said YT had been improving its position by developing new products and reinvesting in the business, but setbacks with a key supplier and instability in the U.S. market compounded difficulties earlier in 2025.
The company is now preparing for a relaunch under Flossman’s ownership, with details expected once contracts are finalised.
Editor's note: This article has been updated, clarifying the position of YT Industries and including a statement issued by the brand
