KKR drives off with Q-Park after £2.6bn offer puts the firm in exclusive talks, beating an offer from Macquarie
Car parks are more valuable than they look, if KKR’s latest deal is anything to go by. The behemoth investor is set to acquire Q-Park, a network of multi-storey car parks operating across northern Europe, after making a near-€3bn (£2.62bn) offer.
Netherlands-based Q-Park, which owns more than 70 UK car parks, is currently owned by a consortium of shareholders – mainly institutional investors, including pension funds and insurance companies.
The group began a sale process last year and it seems KKR jumped into the driving seat, reportedly pipping investment bank Macquarie to the post with its €2.95bn bid.
Q-Park’s supervisory and management boards today announced their unanimous support for the deal, which is still waiting for shareholder approval.
“Q-Park is a high quality company with a strong management team, a highly knowledgeable employee base and a well-diversified asset portfolio,” said Jesus Olmos, global co-head of KKR Infrastructure.
The business markets itself as more “hands-on” than the average multi-storey, with an international helpdesk, on-site employees and a focus on corporate social responsibility.
KKR’s offer values Q-Park at more than 15 times its 2016 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of €194.9m.
Read more: These London parking spaces sold for more than £200,000
If the deal goes well for Q-Park’s shareholders, they won’t be the only ones making a profit from the car parking industry.
Sydney and Melbourne airports are making up to 70 per cent of their profits from associated car parking slots, a study from the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission revealed earlier this year.