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Press Release: gategroup completes acquisition of LSG’s European ops

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Press Release hub banner blue with title in red white and bluegategroup Holding AG (“gategroup”) today announced the completion of the acquisition of the European operations of LSG Group from Deutsche Lufthansa AG (“Lufthansa”).

The transaction comprises LSG’s inflight catering operations in Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Spain as well as the global equipment business trading under the SPIRIANT brand. It also includes the European convenience food operations trading under the Evertaste brand, the Ringeltaube retail outlets as well as its European train catering and lounge operations.

“We are thrilled to have reached this important milestone,” says gategroup CEO Xavier Rossinyol. “The substantial economic challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic required a high degree of flexibility, partnership and trust of all parties involved. We are pleased to have found a viable path forward allowing us to complete the transaction at terms acceptable to both, Lufthansa and gategroup.”

With the acquisition of LSG Europe, gategroup reinforces the core of its business, benefitting employees, customers and shareholders alike. The expertise and capabilities of the two companies perfectly complement each other, benefiting from the other’s expertise, innovative power, culinary and operational excellence. For instance, gategroup will introduce a new Lufthansa-dedicated Studio 50/8TM*, a culinary think tank and exclusive house of inspiration. This is one example which shows the joint passion and commitment of Lufthansa and gategroup to enhance customer experience from end-to-end and with this, defining a new airline catering industry standard.

Rossinyol continues: “Together with our new colleagues, we will find the best way to navigate through these challenging times for our industry and emerge from the crisis with renewed strength. We warmly welcome our new colleagues to gategroup. We look forward to working with them to jointly create the future of exciting culinary and retail experiences for our customers and their passengers.”

In 2019, the acquired LSG Europe assets generated revenues in an amount of EUR 1,112m and employed 7,750 colleagues.

This closing completes the transaction, which was announced on 9 December 2019, following its approval by the EU Commission. In compliance with its commitments to the European Union, gategroup has signed binding agreements to divest parts of its existing German inflight catering operations, a minority interest in an inflight catering kitchen at Brussels airport and some catering assets at Rome (FCO) and Paris (CDG) airports.  gategroup expects to complete the divestments in Q1/2021.

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About gategroup

gategroup is the global leader in airline catering, retail-on-board and hospitality products and services. gategroup provides passengers with superior culinary and retail experiences, leveraging innovation and advanced technology solutions. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, gategroup delivers operational excellence through the most ex-tensive catering network in the aviation industry, serving more than 700 million passengers annually from over 200 operating units in over 60 countries/territories across all continents. In 2019, gategroup reached CHF 4.9 billion in revenues generated by approximately 43,000 employees worldwide.

Forward-Looking Statements

This publication contains forward-looking statements and other statements that are not historical facts. The words “believe”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “expect”, “project”, “estimate”, “predict”, “intend”, “target”, “assume”, “may”, “will” “could” and similar expression are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such statements are made on the basis of assumptions and expectations that we believe to be reasonable as of the date of this publication but may prove to be erroneous and are subject to a variety of significant uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward looking statements. Among these factors are changes in overall economic conditions, changes in demand for our products, changes in the demand for, or price of, oil, risk of terrorism, war, geopolitical or other exogenous shocks to the airline sector, risks of increased competition, manufacturing and product development risks, loss of key customers, changes in government regulations, foreign and domestic political and legislative risks, risks associated with foreign operations and foreign currency exchange rates and controls, strikes, embargoes, weather-related risks and other risks and uncertainties. We therefore caution investors and prospective investors against relying on any of these forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements or to update the reasons for which actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

Note: In the event of any discrepancy or inconsistency between any translated versions of this publication, the English version shall prevail.

Featured image credited to istock.com/JakeOlimb