M&A Deal Summary

EQT Acquires First Student

On April 23, 2021, private equity firm EQT acquired transportation company First Student from Firstgroup for 4.6B USD

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is EQT’s 7th transaction in the Transportation sector.
  • This is EQT’s 8th largest (disclosed) transaction.
  • This is EQT’s 39th transaction in the United States.
  • This is EQT’s 2nd transaction in Ohio.

M&A Deal Summary
Date 2021-04-23
Target First Student
Sector Transportation
Buyer(s) EQT
Sellers(s) Firstgroup
Deal Type Divestiture
Deal Value 4.6B USD

Target

First Student

Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
First Student is a student transportation service provider in North America, providing over 900 million student journeys a year at approximately 1,000 school districts. The Company has 48,000 employees who operate a fleet of over 42,000 school busses and provide an essential service to North American students. First Student is based in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Search 200,500 Deals Now

SEARCH BY

  • Buyer Type (PE or Strategic)
  • Deal Size ($10M to $10B+)
  • Sector (60 Sectors)
  • Deal Type
  • Geography
  • & More

Try For Free 7-Day Free Trial

Buyer(S) 1

Buyer

EQT

Stockholm, Sweden

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1994
PE ASSETS 242.0B EUR
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

EQT is a global private equity group that purses a variety of investment strategies around the world. EQT is divided into several investment disciplines, including private capital, real assets, credit, and venture. The Firm's private capital group targets large, market-leading enterprises (investment size of €125 to €1.5 billion) across Europe and the US, as well as mid-market, growth companies (investment size of €40 to €125 million) across the US, Europe, China, and Southeast Asia. The Firm's real assets group seeks to identify control or co-control equity investments (investment size of €500 to €1 billion) in medium-sized infrastructure companies that provide an essential service to society, are recession resilient, and have secure cash flows. EQT's credit group provides flexible, long-term debt capital solutions to medium-sized European businesses, across a wide range of sectors. EQT was established in 1994 and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 253 of 315
Sector (Transportation) 7 of 11
Type (Divestiture) 45 of 51
State (Ohio) 2 of 2
Country (United States) 39 of 59
Year (2021) 12 of 24
Size (of disclosed) 8 of 47
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2021-04-23 First Transit

Cincinnati, Ohio, United States

First Transit is a public transit management operator that transports over 300 million passengers annually across around 300 locations in North America. First Transit provides essential mobility services to communities, college campuses, businesses, and elderly care facilities that are economical, safe, and environmentally friendly. First Transit was founded in 1955 and is based in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2021-05-07 InCorp

Singapore, Singapore

InCorp is a provider of professional corporate solutions for businesses with a presence in seven markets across Asia. InCorp specializes in a full range of professional services for companies planning to establish a hub or headquarters in Asia, including incorporation, corporate secretarial & compliance, share registry, accounting, taxation, human resources, corporate recovery, and other business advisory services. InCorp was fored in 2015 and is based in Singapore.

Sell -

Seller(S) 1

SELLER

Firstgroup

London, United Kingdom
Category Company
Founded 1986
Sector Transportation
Employees30,995
Revenue 4.3B GBP (2024)
DESCRIPTION

Firstgroup is a transport operator in the UK and North America, providing solutions for an increasingly congested world keeping people moving and communities prospering. Company operate five divisions which draw on common skills and expertise, but which are varied by geography, customer base and a mix of contract and passenger revenue. FirstGroup was incorporated in 1986 and is headquartered in London, United Kingdom.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 4 of 5
Sector (Transportation) 4 of 5
Type (Divestiture) 4 of 5
State (Ohio) 1 of 1
Country (United States) 1 of 2
Year (2021) 1 of 2
Size (of disclosed) 1 of 5
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2021-03-18 Mid States School Bus

Wayne, Nebraska, United States

Mid States School Bus is a provider of school and charter transportation services to nearly 20 school districts across Eastern Nebraska and South Dakota with a fleet of approximately 200 buses. Mid States School Bus headquartered in Wayne, Nebraska.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2021-10-21 Greyhound Lines

Dallas, Texas, United States

Greyhound Lines is a provider of long-distance bus transportation. Greyhound Lines is based in Dallas, Texas.

Sell $46M
Mergr

Product

Company

Legal