Press release: RSBC buys a share in major FlixBus carrier
Prague, 3 February 2020 - Robert Schönfeld’s investment group has acquired a 50% stake in Umbrella Investment Group, SE, which operates international bus transportation across Europe under the FlixBus brand. It is also one of FlixBus’s largest partners on a European scale, providing tour and incoming services across the continent and operating city and commuter transport in Germany. The entry of the RSBC financial group has led to the creation of the strong Umbrella Mobility company. The transaction values the company at hundreds of millions of crowns.
Umbrella Mobility operates international connections for FlixBus across Europe, with about one hundred buses and more than three hundred drivers. Following the establishment of bus terminals in the Czech Republic and Germany, it opened a new terminal for Scandinavia in Copenhagen in 2019. In 2020, it anticipates a new link connecting Prague to Barcelona, and a new office in Paris. The company is also investing heavily into urban and commuter transportation, where it plans to launch dozens of new connections in the German cities of Hamburg and Berlin this year.
“We have acquired a stake in a group that has ambitious development plans in the transportation sector. Our joint objective now is to build up one of the regional leaders in transportation services,” says Miloslav Vyhnal, Chairman of the Board and shareholder of RSBC. In addition to the security of a strong financial partner, the Czech investment group also brings Umbrella Mobility its know-how in the area of strategic management and the governance of large structured companies.
Pavel Steiner, the company’s sole owner to date, will stay on as the general director of Umbrella Mobility. “We chose RSBC from among the potential partners interested in entering our group, primarily because if its excellent and trusted reputation, its experience in management and its fair approach to portfolio companies,” adds Steiner.
On international connections, all of the company’s buses operate bearing the green colour of the well-known FlixBus brand. The German-based FlixBus does not own or operate any buses itself. It is primarily responsible for marketing, ticket sales and pricing policy. The entry of RSBC into Umbrella Mobility will substantially strengthen cooperation with FlixBus and support the development of urban and commuter transportation services.
