Public transport startup mediated by the application FlixMobility, nicknamed “Uber of coaches”, which also operates in Romania, came to be worth over 3 billion dollars, following the latest round of financing obtained.
The German “unicorn”, which owns the online platforms FlixBus and FlixTrain, a announce, on Wednesday, obtained a $ 650 million round of G-series investments, led by Canyon Partners, with the participation of older investors, General Atlantic, Permira, TCV, HV Capital, Blackrock, Baillie Gifford and SilverLake.
The new financing comes in the form of a combination of equity investment and loan. The money will be used to further expand transportation services in the US, Portugal and the UK. FlixMobility will also strengthen its presence in France, Turkey and Eastern Europe.
In its 8 years on the market, the gterman startup has raised investments of about $ 1.7 billion.
Headquartered in Munich, the FlixBus startup started as an idea in 2011. But the business really started in 2013 when the 3 German founders – Daniel Krauss, Jochen Engert and André Schwämmlein – took advantage of the lifting of restrictions on the long-distance passenger business in Germany, by breaking the state monopoly held by Deutsche Bahn – the German “CFR”.
The FlixBus service, through which passengers reserve seats in coaches and trains of partner transport companies, bought, in 2019, the Eurolines intercity and international transport network, established in Europe since the 1980s.
FlixBus, whose business model in intercity and international bus and train transportation has been compared to what Uber does in urban passenger car transportation, has entered Romania since 2016. In addition to Eurolines, on the Romanian market the German startup has concluded partnerships with carriers such as Atlassib, Alis Group, Marmara Premium Bus.
In 2020, when the pandemic hit the tourism and transport sectors hard, FlixMobility’s business was also threatened, but now, with the new round of funding, the German “unicorn” is proving to have serious resources for the future.
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