LBO France has sold Cityvision Group and La Marina de Bercy to Ekkio Capital. The sale follows the takeover of L’OpenTour Paris by RATP Dev, through the sale of SLT (Société des lignes touristiques) and SELT (Société d’exploitation des lignes touristiques) on 12 June 2015.
Since L’OpenTour Paris was acquired by LBO France in 2008, it has strengthened its position as Paris’ market leader in tourist transportation by constantly increasing its revenues and passenger numbers, with 2 million visitors in 2014.
Before these sales, Cityvision Group operated three main lines of business:
• L’OpenTour: open-top hop-on hop-off bus tours in France
• Cityvision: motor coach and minibus excursions
• La Marina de Bercy: dinner cruises
L’OpenTour operations in Lyon, Nice and Marseille are not included in the scope of this sale. LBO.France is in advanced negotiations regarding the sale of these three activities.
Dominik Zwerger, Director, LBO Small Cap Hexagone, LBO France, says: “We are proud of having accompanied the Cityvision Group team over the last seven years. As for L’OpenTour Paris, which has become the leading open-top hop-on hop-off bus sightseeing tour in the city and has been integrated into RATP Dev’s new Sightseeing department, Cityvision Group’s other activities and La Marina de Bercy’s operations developed into strategic assets of Parisian tourism. Validating our original view, they are today perfectly positioned to play an active part of the consolidation of the sector, accompanied by Ekkio Capital, an actor with proven experience in the tourism industry.”
