EQT, Kühne Holding to acquire 35% stake in Flix – Silicon Canals

Munich-based Flix SE, a journey know-how firm, introduced on Thursday that EQT Group and Kühne Holding have acquired a 35 per cent minority stake price round €1B.

This funding values the corporate at over €3B, experiences Bloomberg. 

As a part of this funding, shares may also be bought from current shareholders to ascertain a long-term anchor holding in Flix.

The transaction is pending customary circumstances and regulatory approvals earlier than its completion.

“We’re delighted to welcome EQT Future and Kühne Holding as robust and purpose-driven traders with confirmed monitor information of constructing upon sustainable long-term funding methods. Their capital and know-how will likely be a powerful asset to our firm’s total strategic imaginative and prescient. We couldn’t ask for higher companions to embark on the subsequent chapter of Flix’s journey”, says André Schwämmlein, CEO and Co-Founding father of Flix.

30% enhance in whole income

The funding comes at a time when Flix is experiencing important progress and strategic enlargement.

In 2023, the corporate achieved a 30 per cent enhance in whole income, reaching €2B for the primary time, and recorded an adjusted EBITDA of €104M.

This progress permits Flix to give attention to increasing its world footprint, revolutionising the North American bus market, and scaling FlixTrain to satisfy the growing demand for different rail companies in Germany.

To additional strengthen its geographical presence, Flix has just lately entered two of crucial bus markets worldwide — Chile and India.

The corporate’s world footprint now stretches throughout 43 nations worldwide.

Moreover, FlixBus is considerably increasing its companies within the UK, Portugal, and Ukraine and has launched in Norway and Finland.

The traders

Kühne Holding AG, primarily based in Switzerland, focuses on investments within the logistics and transport sector. It holds a majority stake in Kühne+Nagel Worldwide AG and is the biggest single shareholder of Hapag-Lloyd AG, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, and Brenntag SE.

Dominik de Daniel, CEO of Kühne Holding AG, feedback, “Flix is driving the subsequent technology of collective transport. The Kühne Holding is proud to actively help them as a strategic accomplice of their subsequent part of enlargement. Over the previous few months, now we have established a fantastic relationship with the colleagues of EQT Future. We’ve nice confidence in André Schwämmlein and his group and really a lot look ahead to supporting Flix’s future in a useful partnership.”

Karl Gernandt, Chairman Kühne Holding AG, provides, “As one of many largest strategic traders within the transport and mobility sector, the Kühne Holding is now taking an additional step into the marketplace for collective transport by bus. With Flix’s confirmed asset-light working mannequin, we see nice synergies with our different investments within the transport sector. Moreover, we wish to help the enlargement technique of their worldwide community. We’re constructing on the good successes that Flix has achieved in establishing the bus because the main sustainable technique of transport – for greater than a decade in Europe and now additionally abroad.”

EQT is a purpose-driven world funding organisation with €242B in whole property underneath administration €132B in fee-generating property underneath administration), inside two enterprise segments – Personal Capital and Actual Property.

EQT owns portfolio firms and property in Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Americas and helps them in attaining sustainable progress, operational excellence, and market management.

“EQT Future backs high-quality, rising firms which have the potential to be sustainability leaders of their fields. Flix is the right instance of this. We’re deeply impressed by what Andréand his group have constructed, having developed Flix from a startup into a transparent world market chief, working in 43 nations,” says Andreas Aschenbrenner, Founding Associate and Deputy Head of the EQT Future advisory group. 

“For us at EQT, it’s at all times about offering greater than capital. We’re proud to accomplice with Kühne Holding, one of many main transportation and logistics traders, and along with André and his group, we’re excited to help Flix’s strategic progress agenda over the long run. We goal to make sure Flix’s low-carbon answer to long-distance journey reaches much more individuals internationally and consider that Flix is on a path to being the category-defining participant in mass floor transportation, with large potential to change into a family identify within the trade and past,” provides Aschenbrenner.