KKR Acquires Majority Stake In Swiss Vending Giant Selecta

FRANKFURT, Germany -- Global investment firm KKR said it has signed a definitive agreement with Allianz Capital Partners to acquire its majority stake in Selecta Group. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Selecta is a major player in the European vending and coffee services market with operations in 21 countries. Its main markets are Switzerland, Sweden and France. The vending operation reportedly maintains more than 145,000 vending machines, employs 4,500 people and serves more than 6 million consumers daily.

Allianz Capital Partners bought Selecta in 2007 for $1.19 billion. Selecta had struggled to repay its loans, and in 2012 ACP tried but failed to sell the company, since none of the offers would have repaid its debt.

In 2014, KKR provided $251 million in long-term financing to Selecta, which helped it to avoid a debt restructuring. At the time, KKR also received warrants enabling it to take up to 40% of the company in a potential sale.

KKR is buying a stake in Selecta of more than 90%, with minority investor BlueBay retaining the rest.

Frankfurt, Germany-based KKR has also invested in German coffee machine and kitchenware manufacturer WMF, and Gruppo Argenta, Italy's second-largest vending and coffee service company.

"We have been working with Selecta since 2014 from a creditor and minority shareholder perspective and are now excited to take our partnership to the next level," said KKR director of special situations Mark Brown. "Selecta is in an excellent position to benefit from the current industry dynamics such as an improving European macroeconomic environment, the outsourcing of coffee services at the workplace, and the availability of new technologies including cashless payment and telemetry."

The companies expect to close the transaction in the fourth quarter of 2015.