Flixbus Plans to Raise Cash, Fetch Over $1.1 Billion Valuation

(Bloomberg) -- Flixbus is planning a fresh round of fundraising for acquisitions after the private equity-backed German bus service decided against pursuing an initial public offering, people familiar with the matter said.

The funding round is expected to raise about 300 million euros ($336 million) to 400 million euros and value the firm, which lets customers book tickets via an app for bus trips across Europe, at more than 1 billion euros, the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private.

The company, officially called FlixMobility GmbH, may be seeking a valuation of as high as 1.5 billion euros to 2 billion euros, two of the people said. No final decisions have been made and the funding plans aren't yet formalized, they said.

The company could use the new funds to grow in the U.S. and may eventually consider a New York or European listing, one of the people said. Flixbus has been expanding, adding to its West Coast network with buses connecting the San Francisco Bay area to Los Angeles last year and acquiring French long-distance bus operator Eurolines on Thursday.

A Flixbus spokesman declined to comment. The firm is backed by General Atlantic, Holtzbrinck Ventures, Silver Lake and Daimler.

--With assistance from Giles Turner.

To contact the reporters on this story: Aaron Kirchfeld in London at akirchfeld@bloomberg.net;Sarah Syed in London at ssyed35@bloomberg.net;Stefan Nicola in Berlin at snicola2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Dinesh Nair at dnair5@bloomberg.net, Amy Thomson, Matthew Monks

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