According to insiders, the long-distance bus and rail operator Flix is looking for alternatives to its planned IPO and is therefore talking to financial investors about an entry.

These include the Swedish company EQT, which could acquire a minority stake in Flix, two people familiar with the plans told the news agency Reuters on Thursday. However, the talks are still in the early stages. Citing financial and private equity circles, "Handelsblatt" reported that a 30 percent stake was being discussed. Flix could be valued at 3.2 billion euros, confirmed one of the insiders. This is more than the banks currently consider achievable with an IPO.

Flix and EQT did not wish to comment on this. Other investment companies were also interested in taking a stake, said an insider. However, the start-up, which was founded in 2011, only wants to sell a minority stake in order to maintain its independence. Flix's shareholders include the financial investors General Atlantic, Permira, Holtzbrinck Ventures and Silver Lake. The extent to which a new investor will buy shares from them and how much fresh capital he will bring with him is still being discussed, the newspaper reported.

A year ago, Flix had mandated three banks to prepare an IPO. At that time, there was still talk of a valuation of up to four billion euros. However, the climate for new issues is harsh despite positive stock markets. The shares of perfumery chain Douglas, for example, have lost more than a quarter of their issue price since the initial listing in spring. Flix had always described an IPO as one of several options for financing its growth.

Last year, the young Munich-based company grew by 20 percent after the coronavirus crisis and broke the two billion euro turnover mark for the first time. The adjusted operating profit amounted to 104 million euros. For 2024, Flix is expecting low double-digit revenue growth and a slightly better operating result.

(Report by Alexander Hübner, edited by Sabine Wollrab. If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)