Terra Firma plans to sell German highway rest-stop chain Tank & Rast for around €2 bn
13 Dec 2014
Terra Firma Capital Partners is planning to sell Autobahn Tank & Rast Holding GmbH in a deal that could value the German highway rest-stop chain at more than €2 billion ($2.5 billion), Bloomberg today reported, citing three people with knowledge of with the matter.
The private equity firm has interviewed potential advisers in recent weeks with a view to selling the Bonn-based company in the first half of next year, the report said.
London-based Terra Firma, founded by Guy Hands, had acquired a majority stake in Tank & Rast in 2004 for about €1 billion and sold nearly half its stake in 2007 to Deutsche Bank's infrastructure division RREEF Infrastructure Management Ltd using a €2.27 billion leveraged loan financing to back the buyout.
Tank & Rast motorway network includes around 390 service areas, 350 petrol stations and 50 hotels serving around 500 million visitors every year.
The highly cash-generative operating model is backed by long-term government concessions generates revenues through retail, restaurants, toilet facilities and fuel sales.
It has 210 bakery counters and more than 250 Segafredo, Lavazza, and Dallmayr coffee bars.
Autobahn Tank & Rast has other well-known brands at its service areas such as Burger King, McDonald´s, and German sea-food restaurant chain Nordsee.