Europe’s number one long distance bus operator FlixBus, who has been saving lives of many budget travelers across Europe is now opening up to giant Turkish intercity bus market. German company has agreed to buy Turkey’s leading coach network Kâmil Koç from Actera Group, the private equity firm who has the majority stake in the carrier.
The financial details of the deal have not been disclosed yet. The acquisition is now under examination at the offices of Turkish competition authorities.
Kâmil Koç serves 61 cities all over Turkey and, in 2018, transported more than 20 million people. Once the acquisition is finalized – hopefully next week – the company will be gradually integrated into FlixBus’ extensive mobility network which already offers more than 350,000 daily connections to over 2,000 destinations in 28 European countries and the USA.
Commenting on the deal, Jochen Engert, CEO and founder of FlixBus said: “We are extremely happy to welcome Kâmil Koç to the family to start a new era in the Turkish mobility market. Our vision is to offer green and smart mobility for everyone, and we are excited to extend our innovative spirit, smart services, and high safety and quality standards to bus travelers in Turkey while benefiting from Kâmil Koç’s local know-how. With our technology platform and other product innovations, Turkish bus travelers will benefit from affordable mobility, high safety standards, great service, and more complete and convenient travel options.”
Founded in 2013 after the deregulation of the bus market in Germany, FlixBus has quickly become Europe’s largest intercity bus network and carried over 100 million people so far. A very successful combination of tech-startup, e-commerce platform and transportation company, FlixBus established a network that now spans 30 countries and has become the market leader in several European countries including Germany, Italy, France, Benelux and Poland.
FlixBus operates under FlixMobility, a young mobility provider offering new alternatives for convenient, affordable and environmentally-friendly travel via the FlixBus and FlixTrain brands. Actera Group is the largest private equity firm dedicated to investments in Turkey with assets under management exceeding US$3.3 billion.