CVC Capital to buy Europe’s vending machine operator Autobar for €1.2-billion

Private equity firm, CVC Capital Partners has agreed to buy Autobar Group, Europe's leading food and soft drink vending machine operator from rival Charterhouse Capital Partners for €1.2 billion- the latest in a series of recent such deals where assets are being sold by one private equity firm to another.

London headquartered Autobar is one of Europe's leading vending operator supplying and operating hot and cold drink, snack and food vending machines.

Apart from the Autobar brand, the company has other brands like Cafebar, the office coffee systems and beverage dispensers, Pelican Rouge of coffee, ICS, the coffee roaster and producer of instant vending products that supplies to over 50 countries worldwide and Chequer Foods, the contract catering and food packing service.

It operates nearly 255,000 vending machines in 11 countries in Europe having around 100,000 customers and had sales of €569 million in the year to March 2010.

Charterhouse, one of the UK's largest buy-out firms had acquired Autobar from the Kuwait Investment Authority in 2004 for €850 million.

Charterhouse, which has done over 128 transactions, worth an aggregate €38 billion in transaction value, said that it will retain 11 per cent stake in Autobar.