Hg Announces Acquisition of Mobility Concept

RNS Number : 2690J

HgCapital Trust PLC

28 March 2018

 

28 March 2018

Hg, the Manager of HgCapital Trust plc (the "Company"), has announced today an investment in Mobility Concept ('Mobility') a leading B2B fleet leasing company, headquartered in Germany. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

HgCapital Trust plc will invest approximately £13.8 million in Mobility, with other institutional clients of Hg investing alongside the Company through the Hg 8 Fund.

The Company, whose shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange, gives private and institutional investors the opportunity to participate in all Hg's investments.

Based on the 28 February 2018 NAV, the Company's liquid resources available for future deployment, including all announced transactions and the proposed dividend payable in April 2018, are estimated to be £156 million (22% of the 28 February 2018 NAV of £719 million). In addition, the Company has access to an £80 million standby facility, which is currently undrawn. The investment will reduce the Company's pro-forma outstanding commitments to invest in Hg transactions over the next four to five years to approximately £654 million.

Hg announces acquisition of Mobility Concept

Hg has announced today the acquisition of Mobility Concept GmbH, a leading B2B fleet leasing company, headquartered in Germany. Hg has acquired Mobility Concept from Unicredit Leasing GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of UniCredit Bank AG ("HypoVereinsbank") as well as from the founders. The closing of the transaction is still subject to regulatory approval.

The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2000, Mobility Concept is focused on the B2B auto leasing space. It operates a fleet of approximately 25,000 vehicles under contract and focuses on blue-chip customers within its core sectors, mostly as a sole supplier.

Mobility Concept sits in the Hg investment 'sweet spot', with a strong and predictable business model, including recurring revenues and a loyal customer base.

This investment continues Hg's strategy to develop technology-enabled service providers in the automotive financing space and is the result of considerable sector work undertaken in recent years. This includes prior investments in Zenith (vehicle leasing services), Epyx (an electronic network serving vehicle fleet operators and repair shops), Eucon (a platform for automotive parts pricing data), Parts Alliance (a buying group and distribution network for after-market car parts) and, most recently, MeinAuto.de (a leading B2C online platform for new car purchases).

Mobility Concept will, together with MeinAuto.de, be part of Mobility Holding, a platform set-up by Hg to acquire businesses in the automotive distribution and financing space. Mobility Holding seeks to support its business in the development of innovative long-term mobility solutions for their customers, leveraging best-in-class technology and digital capabilities (for further references please refer to http://www.mobility-holding.de).

Justin von Simson, Managing Partner and Head of the Munich Office at Hg, said: "Mobility Concept is one of the leading B2B leasing platforms in Germany with outstanding customer service and highly skilled employees. This partnership represents an exciting proposition, combining Mobility Concept's long-standing customer base and very efficient organisation/execution processes, with Hg's expertise in the automotive services sector."

Florian Wolff, Director at Hg, commented: "Our investment in Mobility Concept is a result of a long-term focus on the car leasing and distribution space and reflects the Hg approach to sector based, insight driven investing. We look forward to partner with Mobility Concept for the next chapter of their development".

Naveen Kohli, CSO of Mobility Concept said: "The step to partner with Hg makes sure our customers can rely on our high service levels and allows us to develop our services further to preserve the high customer loyalty we enjoy today. Hg is the ideal partner for us due to its profound knowledge in and focus on forward looking mobility concepts."

For further details:

Hg
Laura Dixon                                                                        [phone]

Maitland
Vikki Kosmalska                                                               [phone]

About HgCapital Trust plc

HgCapital Trust plc is an investment trust whose shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: HGT.L). The Company is a client of Hg, giving investors exposure to a portfolio of high-growth private companies, through a liquid vehicle. New investments and existing portfolio companies are managed by Hg, an experienced and well-resourced private equity firm with a long-term track record of delivering superior risk-adjusted returns for its investors. For further details, please see www.hgcapitaltrust.com.

Neither the contents of HgCapital Trust's, Hg's, Mobility Holding, Mobility Concept or Unicredit's websites nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the websites (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.

 

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