Another day, another private equity investment into European tech. The existing private equity owners, Exponent, opted for the certainty of a private equity deal over the risk of trying for an IPO. It also reflects private equity's willingness to pay top dollar for the best European growth assets. Congratulations to the team at Trainline and Exponent on a successful deal.
KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announced the acquisition of Trainline, the UK's leading online platform for selling rail tickets to both consumers and businesses. Trainline is the most downloaded travel app in the UK and its website ranks 5th by gross transaction value in the UK e-commerce sector. The company has 4.7m active customers, 20.8m visits per month and operates platforms for both consumers and businesses. Trainline is licensed to sell rail tickets on behalf of all UK Train Operating Companies, Deutsche Bahn and Trenitalia. Doug McCallum, Chairman of Trainline, said: "Our vision is to transform Trainline into a leading international ecommerce platform and an indispensable partner of the smartphone-enabled digital mobility landscape. We are excited to be able to accelerate this journey with an experienced and global investment partner like KKR."
http://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/kkr-acquires-trainline-20150122-00054
