EQT, Kuehne acquire 35% stake in train and bus company Flix
Adds details in paragraph 2, aborted IPO plan in paragraph 7
By Alexander Hübner
July 4 (Reuters) -Private equity firm EQT and investor Klaus-Michael Kuehne struck a deal to jointly acquire a 35% stake in bus and train services company Flix to fund its expansion, EQT said in a statement on Thursday.
EQT and Kuehne are paying more than 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) for the stake in Flix, owner of the Greyhound brand in North America and FlixBus in Europe, valuing the unlisted company at more than 3 billion euros, a person familiar with the deal told Reuters.
When the deal is closed they will jointly own more than twice as many shares as any other Flix investor, the source added.
The buyers are acquiring shares from existing investors as well as new shares from a capital increase and they will form a long-term strategic partnership with Flix, the statement said.
Flix and EQT, which made the purchase through its sustainability fund EQT Future, declined to comment on the value of the investment.
"EQT Future supports high-quality and growing companies that have the potential to become pioneers in sustainability in their field. Flix is the perfect example of this," Andreas Aschenbrenner, deputy head of the EQT Future advisory team, said.
Flix is active in 43 countries globally and generated revenue of 2 billion euros in 2023.
The company last month put IPO plans on hold due to a poor market environment.
"We can wait a few more years before going public, but an IPO would be the logical exit for us," Aschenbrenner said on Thursday.
Kuehne Holding Executive Chairman Karl Gernandt said in the statement there were great synergies between Flix and Kuehne's other investments in the transport sector.
Kuehne is majority shareholder of logistics group Kuehne +Nagel KNIN.S, while also holding stakes in German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd HLAG.DE and airline Lufthansa LHAG.DE.
($1 = 0.9263 euros)
Reporting by Alexander Huebner in Munich; Writing by Chiara Holzhaeuser; Editing by Ludwig Burger and David Holmes
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