Daimler Buses Sells Minibus Plant to AEQUITA

The plant has produced  Sprinter minibuses since 2019. To date more than 20,000 have been made in Dortmund.

Daimler Buses has sold the Dortmund-based Mercedes-Benz Minibus+ plant to a hedge group called AEQUITA*. In the future Daimler Buses will focus on the production of buses over 8 tons and chassis.

AEQUITA takes over the minibus company with around 240 employees, thereby safeguarding the Dortmund site for the near future. The companies signed a purchase agreement on November 22, 2021. The transaction will be completed on January 01, 2022. The production of Mercedes-Benz brand minibuses at the Dortmund plant will continue. “There will be a continued close partnership between Daimler Buses and AEQUITA in the areas of sales and aftersales,” Daimler claimed.

“We are on the road to the CO₂-neutral mobility of the future and will be investing heavily in the electrification of our product range and the digitalization of services and company processes in the coming years,” said Till Oberwörder, Head of Daimler Buses and Managing Director of EvoBus+.

“In light of the related considerable future investments, we want to concentrate even more than in the past on our core business and our strengths. This involves a strong focus on chassis and complete buses over 8 tons. In this context we will even more consistently implement measures to increase efficiency and cost savings, as well as streamline our European production network at the same time,” Oberwörder said.

“The minibus business has very good growth opportunities, which we will tackle together in a long-term partnership with Daimler,” said Dr.-Ing. Axel Geuer, Managing Partner of the AEQUITA Group. Daimler is already AEQUITA’s largest customer, accounting for more than 25% of our sales. We thank Daimler for the trust in us and aim to further strengthen this close partnership.”

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*AEQUITA is a Munich-based hedge fund buying into corporate carve-outs, successions, and recovery situations across Europe. It claims the focus is on the acquisition and long-term value improvement of companies that can benefit from an “operational engagement.” AEQUITA claims a fresh view to all areas of the business, such as sales development, production optimization and efficiency measures, which can help management with growth.

+Mercedes-Benz Minibus is a subsidiary of EvoBus, based in Dortmund. The complete minibus product portfolio has been produced here since 2008. The plant has produced the new Sprinter generation of minibuses since 2019. To date more than 20,000 minibuses have been produced in Dortmund. Around 240 people are currently employed at the site.