EQT To Sell German Facilities Manager Apleona To PAI Partners In EUR 1.6 Bln Deal

(RTTNews) - EQT Corp. (EQT), a purpose-driven investment organization, announced Sunday that the EQT VII fund agreed to sell Apleona Group GmbH to PAI Partners SAS for a total transaction value of around 1.6 billion euros.

Apleona, a German facility management services provider, was acquired by EQT in 2016 through a carve-out from Bilfinger SE, a German industrial services conglomerate. Apleona has more than 20,000 employees, managing tens of thousands of buildings and offices in over 30 countries across Europe.

EQT now said certain shares in the proceeds will be shared with Bilfinger resulting in expected proceeds of around 450 million euros to 470 million euros to Bilfinger's Preferred Participation Note.

The transaction is subject to customary conditions and approvals and is expected to close early Q2 2021. Deutsche Bank acted as financial advisor to EQT.

EQT noted that during its tenure, Apleona's EBITA has grown over 10 percent per year with a margin increase of 100 basis points to industry-leading levels.