Lufthansa Group and gategroup finalised the purchase of the European business of LSG Group on December 9, after the sale had been approved by the German airline group's Executive Board on November 26. According to the group press release, the financial details of the transaction have not been made public, and the sale will need to gain the relevant approval from the competition authorities.
As well as the European catering operations, gategroup will also pick-up LSG's lounge business, retail convenience food specialist Evertaste, the SPIRIANT equipment business and the retail outlets and operations of the Ringeltaube brand as part of the purchase agreement.
The businesses represent around a third of the LSG Group's total revenue - around EUR1.1 billion euro (USD1.22 billion) last year - and employ 7,100 staff.
In addition to the acquisition, the two parties have entered into a long-term catering partnership at the Frankfurt International, Munich and Zurich hubs. For the Frankfurt and Munich operations which provide catering for Lufthansa flights, Lufthansa will retain a minority shareholding in a new joint venture company.
“In gategroup we have found a new owner for LSG’s European business which has catering as its core activity,” says Carsten Spohr, Chief Executive Officer of Lufthansa. “This gives the European part of LSG far better future investment prospects and further development opportunities.”
“At the same time,” Spohr adds, “this transaction marks the beginning of a long-term partnership between gategroup and the Lufthansa Group which will focus on catering our premium airlines at our Frankfurt, Munich and Zurich hubs. This ensures a high level of job security at these locations and our customers can continue to expect the highest quality of gastronomic experience on board.”
The sale of the remaining part of the LSG Group should be initiated early next year. In 2018, its 35,500 employees produced 719 million meals and achieved consolidated revenues of EUR3.2 billion euro (USD3.55 billion).
