Mavic employees are demanding answers from the brand's parent company after the wheel and equipment manufacturer was placed into receivership this week.

Mavic, which provides neutral service support for the Tour de France, had to resort to financial means on May 2, putting the jobs of its 250 employees in France at risk.

Mavic's actual owners and those responsible for its future are currently unknown, as its 2019 sale to private equity firm Regent LP was clearly a sham.

The Socio-Economic Committee (CSE), an organization representing Mavic employees, along with the CFDT and CFE-CGC labor unions, issued a statement seeking clarification.

According to the statement, it appears that Mavic was sold by its parent company, Salomon, to Regent LP last July, shortly after Salomon's shareholder, Amer Sports (a Finnish company that also owns the Wilson tennis brand), was sold to a Chinese consortium.

Despite the listing of Mavic in Regent LP's portfolio, CSE claimed that no acquisition took place and that Mavic was instead in the hands of a mysterious US company.

"A few days ago, a Mavic staff representative learned that, contrary to what had been publicly announced, Salomon had not sold the company to Regent LP, but to Delaware-based M Sports, a company with no capital ties to Regent LP.

"To make matters worse, since the sale by Salomon, Mavic has been understandably abandoned and was never actually taken over by either Regent LP or M Sports.

"Many questions arise, and the CSE and Mavic unions intend to get answers: under what conditions did Salomon and the Amarr Sports Group sell Mavic, who is behind M-Sport, and why did they buy Mavic?

After hearing nothing from Regent LP, Mavic's CSE issued an economic warning in September and in December requested that Mavic be placed under the protection of the local commercial court.

"Why did we have to wait months before the receivership was finally opened?

"What happened in the meantime?

According to CSE, Mavic remains "totally dependent" on Salomon, and Salomon "must still be considered the beneficial owner of Mavic."

Therefore, CSE called on Salomon, a mountaineering brand, to take responsibility.

"In any event, given Mavic's lack of autonomy, a takeover would be impossible without the participation of Salomon and Amer Sports Group.

"Therefore, Salomon must fully discharge its responsibilities, as Mavic has contributed significantly to the Group's performance over the years.