* Derby Cycle IPO to help expand into electric bike market
* Date for IPO not yet set, possible in Q1 2011 -source
* Group recorded 173 million eur revenue in 2009/2010
FRANKFURT, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Germany's largest bicycle manufacturer, Derby Cycle, is hoping to cash in on the swelling European market for electric bikes by launching its initial public offering (IPO) in the near future, the group said.
"We are already well prepared for a possible IPO and can start the process soon, given favourable underlying conditions," Chief Executive Mathias Seidler said on Wednesday, adding that he expects strong growth in the electric-bike sector over the coming years.
"We want to benefit from this trend. An IPO would help us to do just that," he said, declining to give details on the precise date of the IPO.
A source close to the company told Reuters that the IPO may go ahead on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange as early as the first quarter of 2011, making the company the first to float this year.
Earlier this month, German lingerie group Schiesser said it had emerged from insolvency and was preparing to go public on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in the second quarter of 2011.
Derby Cycle's product range includes e-bikes, sport bikes for leisure cycling and competition, and ÿÿÿcomfort bikes for every day and travel use. During the past fiscal year 2009/2010 the group sold 430,000 bicycles, recording revenues of around 173 million euros ($224.5 million). Earnings before interest and taxes totalled approximately 12 million euros, the group said.
The electric bicycle, or e-bike, has experienced a surge in popularity since it was first introduces in the late 1990s, partly because most models can be classified as zero-emissions vehicles.
The Obama administration's push to have one million rechargeable vehicles on U.S. roads by 2015 has added further momentum to trends like the e-bike and rechargeable motorbikes and cars. ($1=.7707 Euro) (Reporting by Josie Cox and Kerstin Leitel; Editing by Louise Heavens)