Covington Represents FlixMobility in Acquisition of Greyhound Lines
October 21, 2021
SAN FRANCISCO—Covington advised FlixMobility, global mobility provider of the FlixBus and FlixTrain brands, on its acquisition of the iconic Greyhound Lines, Inc., the largest provider of long-distance bus transportation in the United States, from FirstGroup plc.
The purchase brings together FlixBus’ innovative global technology and shared mobility expertise with Greyhound’s nationwide presence and century-old experience, creating a company that will be better able to service the needs of intercity bus travelers in the U.S. The FlixBus Global network serves over 2,500 destinations in 36 countries outside of the U.S. with 400,000 daily connections. Greyhound currently connects approximately 2,400 destinations across North America with nearly 16 million passengers each year.
FirstGroup reached an agreement with Neptune Holding Inc., a corporation 100% controlled by FlixMobility, to sell Greyhound Lines, Inc., the US Greyhound operating business (including its vehicle fleet, trademarks, and certain other assets and liabilities) for an enterprise value on a debt-free/cash-free basis of approximately $46 million plus unconditional deferred consideration of $32 million with an interest rate of 5% per annum.
The Covington team was led by Denny Kwon, Gustavo Akkerman, Elizabeth Reale, and Vesta Parvaresh; Robert Newman, Jason Levy and James Damon on employee benefits matters; Scott Freling, Nooree Lee and Ryan Burnette on government contract matters; Heather Haberl and Adam Osielski on real estate matters; Gretchen Hoff Varner and Hakeem Rizk on insurance matters; Kevin Zaragoza, Lee Kelley and Jon Endean on tax matters; Thomas Brugato and Lindsay Brewer on environmental matters; Carolyn Rashby and Michelle Barineau on employment matters; Winslow Taub, Brandon Palmen and Kathleen Gallagher-Duff on intellectual property matters; Yaron Dori and Brooke Kahn on data privacy matters; Jennifer Saperstein on compliance matters; Alison Sikes and Ana Duong on corporate matters; and Michael Baxter on restructuring matters.