Lufthansa Group concludes sale of the LSG Group

Germany

Transaction completed on 31 October.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG concluded the sale of the remaining part of the LSG Group yesterday (October 31). With the sale transaction now completed, ownership of the LSG Group has passed from the Lufthansa Group to the Aurelius Group private equity company, as contractually agreed in early April of this year. The LSG Group’s European business activities were previously sold to gategroup in 2019.

“I would like to offer my thanks, on behalf of the entire Lufthansa Group, to everyone at the LSG Group,” says Remco Steenbergen, Chief Financial Officer of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. “They have been a vital element in our Group’s success story over the past few decades. That the Lufthansa Group is now number one in Europe is thanks in no small part to our LSG Group colleagues, their passion and their always outstanding work. In the Aurelius Group they now have a new owner who can provide new input and ideas, and who will continue to invest in the catering business segment. And I am particularly delighted that, as our partner for our on-board product and our service concepts, the LSG Group will continue to play a vital role for the guests of our Group’s member airlines.”

The sale of its catering arm is part of the Lufthansa Group’s broader strategy to focus even more firmly on its core air transport business and thereby further enhance the profitability of its member airlines. “Following the agreements earlier this year on the sale of Airplus and on our acquisition of an equity holding in ITA, this closing on the sale of the LSG Group is further confirmation that we are consistently pursuing our strategy and, in doing so, are driving our Group’s transformation,” Steenbergen concludes.

“Today marks the start of a new chapter in our company’s long history, and we are greatly looking forward to the opportunities ahead,” says Erdmann Rauer, Chief Executive Officer of the LSG Group. “We would like to thank the Lufthansa Group. In all the years that we have been a part of it, the Lufthansa Group has helped us rise to become the leader in our industry. During the pandemic in particular, but in post-pandemic times, too, our LSG Group has proven its worth and its strength as one of the most important catering providers in the air transport sector. We are proud to have been part of the Lufthansa Group; but we are ready now to write a new chapter in our company’s story and success. Our thanks go too, of course, to the Aurelius Group, for their confidence in our potential and for their willingness to invest in our future.”

The sale of the LSG Group comprises all the group’s classic catering activities along with its on-board retail and food commerce businesses. The sale further extends to all the brands of the LSG Group including the 131 LSG Sky Chefs catering operations in the Americas (the USA and Latin America), Asia-Pacific and Emerging Markets regions. Dublin-based on-board retail specialist Retail InMotion (RiM) and SCIS Air Security Services in the USA are also included. The LSG Group has a total workforce of some 20,000 personnel, and operates 36 joint ventures worldwide.