Doughty Hanson divests Avanza Group

Doughty bought the firm in 2006, in the first transaction completed from its Madrid office. The deal value was estimated to stand at around €600m and included a seven-year bullet loan and a leverage multiple of 8x EBITDA. The debt-to-equity ratio was 75:25, according to unquote" data.

The GP hired investment bank JP Morgan to explore possible sale options for the asset in 2011.

The exit is the third completed by Doughty from the Doughty Hanson & Co V vehicle, which is currently 65% committed with a final five assets left to divest. 

Company
Born in 2002 of the merger of three transport firms, Tuzsa, Vitrasa and Auto-Res, Avanza Group is based in Madrid. The company operates buses and bus stations across Spain in urban, suburban and intercity segments. 

The firm has grown acquisitively under Doughty's ownership, completing six bolt-ons including CTSA Portillo in November 2007, Alosa in May 2008, two concessions in Southern Madrid in 2010 and two concessions in Northern Madrid in 2011.

In 2009 the firm expanded its presence in the Zaragoza area when a consortium led by Avanza won the construction and operation of the new tram network. 

People
Francisco G Churtichaga, a partner at Doughty Hanson, worked on the investment and exit.

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• Topics
• Southern Europe
• Exits
• Industrials
• Spain
• Doughty Hanson & Co
• JP Morgan
• Trade sale