Lufthansa Group on April 5 announced the sale of the rest of its LSG Group catering business to AURELIUS, a private equity company.
The deal, the financial terms of which were not disclosed, followed the 2019 sale of European LSG Sky Chefs activities to gategroup and was expected to be wrapped up by the third quarter of 2023.
“We are pleased to have found the right investor for the LSG Group going forward that also has the full support of the LSG Group management. We are confident that AURELIUS will enable the LSG Group to be well positioned in the years ahead. In turn, it enables us to focus even more on further improving the profitability and capital returns of the Lufthansa Group core business,” said Remco Steenbergen, chief financial officer.
"The divestment of the catering segment is part of the Lufthansa Group's strategy to focus more on its airline business in the future. The transaction is expected to have a positive effect on Lufthansa Group’s operating margin (Adjusted EBIT) and capital return (Adjusted ROCE)," the group explained in its statement announcing the deal.
The transaction, the group added, "includes all classic catering, onboard retail and food commerce activities and brands of the LSG Group, with all 131 LSG Sky Chefs Customer Service Centers in the Americas, emerging markets and Asia-Pacific regions, plus onboard retail expert Retail InMotion (RiM), based in Europe, and SCIS Air Security Services in the US", taking in around 19,000 employees and 36 joint ventures.
"With AURELIUS, we have found a trustworthy partner who buys into our global strategy, which focuses on the three pillars of airline catering, onboard retail and food commerce, " said LSG Group chief executive Erdmann Rauer.
"AURELIUS will work with the LSG Group’s experienced management team to materialise the growth opportunities that are available to the company," said Dirk Markus, founding partner of AURELIUS.