Lufthansa Group sells AirPlus to Sweden’s SEB Group
The Lufthansa Group has signed an agreement to sell payment specialist AirPlus to Sweden’s SEB Kort Bank for €450 million, it was announced today.
The deal comes shortly after the sale of its LSG catering business in April this year and is expected to close in the first half of 2024. The transaction includes all international subsidiaries and branches of AirPlus and the company will remain a member of the global payment network UATP after the sale. The group revealed its intention to sell AirPlus and LSG in June 2021.
“We are pleased to have found a strong new owner for AirPlus from the financial industry,” said Remco Steenbergen, chief financial officer of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. “SEB Kort brings along a great amount of experience in the payment business and has the full support of the AirPlus management. AirPlus is perfectly positioned in the market and, as part of a larger financial group, will be able to realise its potential better than in the Lufthansa Group.”
Steenbergen continued: “In turn, it enables us to focus even more on further improving the profitability and capital returns of the Lufthansa Group core business. My thanks goes to the employees of AirPlus. They have made their company a global leader in B2B payment services.”
“After both signings – of the divestment of the LSG Group in April and of the recent agreement on a shareholding in ITA – the sale of AirPlus is the next major step in the Lufthansa Group strategy to focus on its core business going forward,” added Steenbergen. “Selling two Group companies and agreeing on a stake in ITA – all in less than three months – clearly shows our determination in executing this strategy.”
Johan Torgeby, president and CEO of SEB Group, said: “We have followed AirPlus for many years and see a compelling strategic fit with SEB Kort. By joining forces, SEB Kort and AirPlus will be well placed for the future corporate payments market, benefitting from complementary strengths, synergies and scale benefits. Furthermore, the transaction will support SEB Group’s broader strategic ambitions within corporate banking in the DACH region and Northern Europe.”
source: BTN Europe
