Flix brings Klaus-Michael Kühne and EQT on board as investors

For months, there has been speculation in financial circles about an impending IPO of the German mobility start-up Flix. But on Thursday, the company behind Flixbus and Flixtrain announced another transaction: Kühne Holding and the Sweden-based investment company EQT are jointly acquiring a 35 percent stake in Flix. The investment is part of a “long-term strategic partnership,” the three partners stated in their press releases.

Silence about finances

Kühne Holding, based in Schindellegi, Switzerland, comprises the business investments of the German billionaire Klaus-Michael Kühne, who lives in Switzerland. EQT is making the investment through EQT Future, its long-term fund focused on sustainability. With the entry of the two companies, an IPO of Flix is ​​likely to be off the table for the time being.

According to the company, the two new shareholders will acquire shares from existing investors in addition to subscribing to a capital increase and thus “build up a long-term anchor stake in Flix”. The companies did not provide any financial details when asked. The “Handelsblatt” reported, citing financial and investor circles, that the consortium would pay around 900 million euros. The “Frankfurter Allgemeine” believes it knows that the amount is “a good billion euros”.

The “travel tech company” Flixbus, founded by current CEO André Schwämmlein and two partners, started long-distance bus services in Germany in 2013. The founders have developed a special business model: apart from the two fleets acquired through company takeovers from Greyhound in the USA and Kamil Koc in Turkey, Flixbus does not own its own buses, but works with external partner companies.

Flixbus takes care of the booking platform, combines routes into a network, creates timetables and obtains concessions. The partners own the buses, employ drivers and bear operational responsibility. Since 2018, Flix has also been offering long-distance trains through its much smaller train division Flixtrain, but currently only in Germany.

Rapid growth

In just over ten years, the small Munich startup has become a corporation active in 43 countries worldwide. In 2023, Flix transported 81 million passengers worldwide, increased sales by 30 percent to 2 billion euros and achieved an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of 104 million. It was only the second profitable year. Previously, the company had always accepted slight losses in order to grow faster, Schwämmlein explained in an interview with the NZZ in the spring.

Flix has declared its intention to continue expanding. The two new investors will now contribute to this. The capital increase will further strengthen Flix’s balance sheet and support its growth strategy, the press release states. “Both have already proven that they are committed to sustainable and long-term investment strategies. Their capital and their know-how will be a great asset to Flix,” Schwämmlein was quoted as saying.

So far, Flix has financed its growth through a series of financing rounds with investors, and the three founders also hold shares. The vast majority of current shareholders will stay, according to the company, but some have taken the opportunity to obtain some liquidity after a successful investment in Flix.

Kühne remains loyal to logistics

Kühne Holding wants to “actively support” Flix’s expansion and presents the commitment as a complement to its previous activities: “We see great synergies between Flix’s proven asset-light business model and our other investments in the transport sector,” said Karl Gernandt, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the holding company, on Thursday.

Kühne Holding currently holds, among other things, the majority of the logistics group Kühne + Nagel International, which is also based in Schindellegi, and according to company information it is the largest single shareholder in the Hamburg shipping company Hapag-Lloyd, Lufthansa and Brenntag, a global market leader in the distribution of chemicals and ingredients.

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