Billionaire Kühne joins Flix
The bus and train transportation broker Flix is hesitant about going public. The reason for this is the current rough environment. The company is now securing fresh capital from two investors. Besides a Swedish financial investor, EQT, the richest German, Klaus-Michael Kühne, is joining in. Together, they are reportedly acquiring 35% of the Munich-based company, which was founded in 2012, as EQT and Flix announced. Part of this is new equity capital, and EQT Future Fund and the Kühne Holding are also acquiring shares of other Flix shareholders. According to an insider, they are investing around one billion Euros in Flix, valuing the company at more than three billion Euros.
Flix had been preparing for an IPO for some time but has been hesitant due to the poor market environment. This could mean that the IPO will be delayed for several years. "We couldn't wish for better partners to help us achieve our strategic goals," said Flix CEO Andre Schwammlein.
Klaus-Michael Kühne, who is 87 years old, is considered the richest man in Germany. He is a major shareholder in the Swiss logistics company Kühne & Nagel, the shipping company Hapag-Lloyd, and Lufthansa.
Flix is now active in 43 countries. The company reported a 30% revenue growth in the previous year and reached the two billion Euro annual revenue mark for the first time, achieving this at an increased profitability with a cleaned-up operational result (EBITDA) of 104 million Euros.
The strong growth enables Flix to enter new markets, such as the North American bus market. Additionally, the FlixTrain offering has been expanded to respond to the increasing demand for alternative rail transport in Germany. Recently, the company also gained access to two of the most important bus markets worldwide: Chile and India.
Despite Flix's successful revenue growth and entry into new markets, the economy's volatility led to their hesitation toward an IPO. Financial investors, including EQT and Klaus-Michael Kühne, saw this as an opportunity and decided to invest a substantial sum, around one billion Euros, into the company, acquiring a 35% stake in Flixbus.
