KKR sells stake in Scout24 Schweiz to insurer Swiss Mobiliar

Swiss Mobiliar acquired a 50% share from KKR and other investors. Previous investor Ringier will retain its stake in the company. Swiss newspaper NZZ estimated that KRR doubled its original investment on the exit after just one and a half years.  

KKR stated that Scout24 Schweiz benefited from its expertise in the media, digital and technology sectors and from access to its global network of advisers and technology experts. The GP also added Bob Bellack, the co-founder of Cars.com, to the company's board of directors.

Previous funding
In August 2014, KKR agreed to partner with international media business Ringier to develop its Scout24 Schweiz and Omnimedia online classifieds and marketing subsidiaries.

Press reports suggested that the deal was funded by some $175m from KKR's European Fund III which, according to unquote" data, closed on €4.8bn in June 2008. The investment saw KKR acquire 49% of the shares in each of Ringier Digital's subsidiaries.

Company
Founded in 1995 as Xmedia, Scout24 Schweiz operates a Swiss network of online marketplaces. The platforms receives a combined 21 million visits per month. It comprises autoscout24, motoscout24, immoscout24 and Anibis. 

Digital marketing company Omnimedia was founded in 2007 and entered the market in 2008. It offers target-group-specific online advertising to its national and regional clients.

People
KKR – Philipp Freise (head of TMT).
Scout24 Schweiz – Olivier Rihs (CEO).
Ringier – Marc Walder (CEO).
Swiss Mobiliar – Markus Hongler (CEO).

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