Hellman & Friedman buys AutoScout24 in €2.9bn deal

The deal values the business at €2.9bn, exceeding Scout24's valuation expectation of €2.5bn and equivalent to 26.1x EBITDA for the 12 months to September 2019.

H&F used equity and debt for the deal and is currently deploying from H&F Capital Partners IX. The fund held a final close in October 2018 on $16bn and targets large buyouts in Europe and North America in sectors including healthcare and software/internet.

Scout24 said in a statement that it intends to return capital to its shareholders and focus on the further development of ImmoScout24.

H&F aims to strengthen AutoScout24's market presence in key European markets including Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Austria. The GP could also make add-on acquisitions to consolidate the sector. Mergermarket reported in November 2019 that the GP could seek to enter into a strategic partnership with German B2B online marketplace Auto1.

Scout24 announced a strategic review for AutoScout24 in August 2019, as reported by Unquote sister publication Mergermarket. Interested bidders for the company included Apax Partners, Permira and Australian market peer Carsales.com, according to Mergermarket.

In May 2019, H&F and Blackstone failed in their attempt to take Scout24 private, as reported by Unquote. The GPs bought a majority stake of 70% in Scout24 in 2013 and floated the company in 2015. Unquote reported that H&F made its final exit from Scout24 in February 2018.

Company
AutoScout24 is part of real estate and automobile digital marketplace Scout24, which was founded in 1998. AutoScout24 includes FinanceScout24 and Finanzcheck.

The platform has 10 million monthly users, lists 2.5 million cars and has 45,000 car dealer customers. It also provides platforms for the sale of motorcycles and spare parts. It operates in 18 countries, employs several hundred staff and reports revenues of €235m.

Advisers
Equity – JP Morgan (corporate finance); Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (legal).
Vendor – Credit Suisse (corporate finance); Morgan Stanley (corporate finance); Allen & Overy (legal).

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