PRINT THIS PAGE

Spain's Amadeus agrees to Cinven/BC Partners €4.3bn buy-out bid

Amadeus has confirmed that Cinven and BC Partners' joint €4.3bn bid for the Spanish technology provider has been successful. The deal is the largest ever private equity transaction in Spain and one of the largest in Europe.

Amadeus said in a statement, 'The reference shareholders of Amadeus, Air France, Lufthansa and Iberia, have informed the company of their selection of the proposal from BC Partners and Cinven to launch, together with them, a public tender offer over 100 per cent of Amadeus shares at a price of €7.35 per share, with the final objective of de-listing the company from the Stock Market.'

Cinven and BC Partners did not make any further comments today.

Amadeus is the biggest technology provider to the European travel sector, operating reservation systems to airlines amongst other services. It was put on the market in summer last year by the consortium of airlines that owned a large chunk of its share capital.

The ensuing auction attracted a lot of attention from large buy-out groups because the firm was believed to have strong growth potential and plenty of opportunity for cost reduction. Its very low level of debt will also provide private equity buyers the chance to leverage up the firm.

Both BC Partners and Cinven, two of the very largest European buy-out groups, are expected to raise new funds at some point this year.

Copyright © 2005 AltAssets