Souter Investments has sold OnniBus.com, a Finnish intercity bus operator, to Koiviston Auto.
OnniBus.com was founded by Finnish entrepreneurs Lauri Helke, Petteri Rantala and Pekka Motto in 2012 and quickly became a disruptive influence on the Finnish intercity transport market.
Following growth capital investment from Souter Investments in 2014, OnniBus.com re-launched, offering a fast and reliable Finnish intercity coach network. The company pioneered the use of dynamic, yield managed pricing and built an online distribution and sales model via its website www.onnibus.com. Today OnniBus.com serves more than 300,000 passengers every month, and operates a national network connecting customers in over 120 cities, towns and villages across Finland. The business employs more than 230 people.
In 2015, OnniBus.com was voted first in a public survey of who provided the best customer experience in Finland, and in 2016 OnniBus.com was ranked number one for customer communication and as the fourth most trusted organisation in Finland, ranking only behind the Red Cross, Save the Children and UNICEF.
Lauri Helke, Chief Executive of OnniBus.com, says: “I am very happy to announce that OnniBus.com and Koiviston Auto are joining forces, combining two iconic Finnish public transport businesses. Together we are well placed to continue the OnniBus.com growth story and we look forward to developing many new business ideas and opportunities as part of the Koiviston group.”
Alongside growth capital, Souter Investments provided financial and management support as well as strategic guidance and assistance. Behind the scenes Souter Investments also worked with management to professionalise the business and invest in systems, processes and people, including developing a major new ecommerce platform.
John Berthinussen, Investment Director at Souter Investments, says: “OnniBus.com is a great example of a team of entrepreneurs spotting a market opportunity and going for it. Against the backdrop of a period of great innovation, change and disruption in the transport and mobility industry, Souter Investments has been delighted to provide our financial, management and operational support to Lauri, Petteri and their team, together creating a true market leading business.”
Antti Norrlin, Chief Executive of Koiviston Auto, adds: “Growing by acquisitions has always been a part of Koiviston Auto’s strategy. By teaming up with OnniBus.com we will get a great deal of new knowledge in marketing, online sales and dynamic pricing. These are exactly the things we need in order to offer even better service to our customers. The intercity network of OnniBus.com will be expanded and the great OnniBus.com brand and services will be developed under the supervision of the present OnniBus.com management.”
Helke adds: “From a customer perspective there will be no change to what OnniBus.com does. We remain totally focussed on providing our customers with consistently great service and developing innovative, fantastic value travel choices.”
“Over time we look forward to working with Antti and his team to integrate OnniBus.com and Koiviston, creating a bigger, better and more convenient network of travel, and to provide other services to our customers. The future is very bright, and we see great potential for continued growth.”
Souter Investments and exiting shareholders were advised by Tero Jormanainen of Roschier, Helsinki and Koiviston Auto by Olli Hyvönen of Eversheds, Helsinki.
