34% of the shares
On 02 October 2018, the RETHMANN Group announced in Paris that it is intending to purchase Veolia’s 30% share in the Transdev Group (Transdev) and that its public transport operations in Germany will be integrated into the Transdev Group as part of this agreement. The RETHMANN Group will own a 34% share in Transdev on completion of these two transactions which must first be presented to the companies’ respective employee representative groups and be approved by the relevant authorities.
Coach: Leader in intercity transport in France
Ferry: 90 ferries, 13 networks in 5 countries
Taxi/private driver: Connexxion, lead in transport on demand in the Netherlands with 30% of market share
Car sharing: 2 services in France: Nice and La Rochelle
Paratransit and ambulance services: Witte Kruis, the first ambulance service provider in the Netherlands with 130,000 patients carried every year
Shared shuttles: Leader in the USA with 9 million passengers
Bike services: 16 cities in France
Parking: 130,000 off-street and on-street parking spaces in France
Rail: 33 Networks in 6 countries
Metro: 3 metro lines in Mumbai (India), Seoul (South Korea) and Paris-CDG airport (France)
Tramway an tram-train: World leader with 22 networks in 9 countries
Bus rapid transit: A pioneer in the field, with TEOR in Rouen (France)
Bus: 24,600 vehicles in 13 countries
“The RETHMANN Group’s acquisition of this stake in the company will also strengthen its international dimension, making Transdev a true European mobility champion.”
Eric Lombard, CEO Caisse des Dépôts
Investing in the future
With two-thirds of the voting rights and a 66% share in Transdev, the financial institute Groupe Caisse des Dépôts will continue to own a majority share in Transdev. The RETHMANN Group is REMONDIS’ parent company and a 100% family-owned business. Its decision to invest in Transdev reflects the group’s long-term strategic goals.
As the parent company of REMONDIS, SARIA and Rhenus, the RETHMANN Group is a key service and utility provider. Its operations will now be extended to include Transdev, a pioneer of mobility in Europe and beyond.
As the parent company of REMONDIS, SARIA and Rhenus, the RETHMANN Group is a key service and utility provider. It works for both the public and private sectors providing water and recycling services as well as logistics and public transport – Transdev’s core business. The RETHMANN Group will contribute to this transaction by integrating its German public transport operations (run by its subsidiary Rhenus Veniro) and its technologies and know-how into the Transdev Group.
Greater focus on growing international business
Having the RETHMANN Group as one of its shareholders will both reinforce and speed up Transdev’s future development. What’s more, greater focus will also be put on growing the Transdev Group’s international operations (60% of its turnover is already generated outside France). This will make Transdev one of the leading mobility companies in Europe. The RETHMANN Group will share its digital solution technologies, tools and know-how, all of which are hugely important for the Transdev Group and its customers both in France and beyond.
“We wish to share both our know-how of international logistics and public services and our long-term family-owned business model with Transdev in order to develop custom-designed mobility solutions that meet the exact requirements of its customers.”
Ludger Rethmann, Board Member of the RETHMANN Group
What the company bosses have to say
Eric Lombard, CEO of Caisse des Dépôts, commented: “As the majority shareholder of Transdev, we welcome the arrival of the RETHMANN Group, a long-term industrial partner, as a shareholder in Transdev. Our subsidiary will thus have all the assets to offer even more innovative mobility solutions in France that are adapted to all the specificities of the regions. The RETHMANN Group’s acquisition of this stake in the company will also strengthen its international dimension, making Transdev a true European mobility champion.”
Ludger Rethmann, board chairman and one of the owners of the RETHMANN Group, said: “We are extremely proud to start a new industrial partnership with the Groupe Caisse des Dépôts that focuses on developing Transdev, the leading company for mobility solutions. The RETHMANN Group believes that climate change and the digital revolution currently taking place in the workplace will create many new opportunities for modern and sustainable mobility solutions. We wish to share both our know-how of international logistics and public services and our long-term family-owned business model with Transdev in order to develop custom-designed mobility solutions that meet the exact requirements of its customers.”
Focusing on the customers
Thierry Mallet, board chairman and CEO of Transdev, remarked: “The presence of RETHMANN Group in the capital of Transdev, alongside majority shareholder Groupe Caisse des Dépôts, will allow us to accelerate our development. Our shareholders support our vision of a mobility which is ever more human, inclusive, innovative and sustainable. They will actively support our ambition as a global integrator of all mobilities. From now on, with RETHMANN Group, we will continue to accelerate on this trajectory.”
Transdev recently launched its ‘Moving You’ strategy that aims to transform its business and integrate mobility solutions. This strategy reflects the company’s response to the major changes affecting the public transport sector as well as its desire to be able to better meet the needs and expectations of passengers, public authorities and business customers. The change in its shareholder structure will help ensure this strategy is implemented successfully.
Three companies – one goal: Caisse des Dépôts, REMONDIS and Transdev
Caisse des Dépôts retains its control over Transdev
Caisse des Dépôts is a French state-owned bank whose mission is to finance and support medium-sized businesses as well as social housing and public transport projects. It had been looking for an industrial partner to take over Veolia’s 30% share in Transdev. CDC’s search for a partner came to an end when it found the RETHMANN Group. With 66% of the shares and more than two-thirds of the voting rights, Caisse des Dépôts will retain its control over Transdev. The board of directors has a total of eleven members: six representing the Caisse des Dépôts Group, one independent member, one representing the employees and three representing the RETHMANN Group – further strengthening the international character of the company’s management structure. As the majority shareholder, the Caisse des Dépôts Group confirmed that it will be helping Transdev to implement its long-term development plans. It supports the company’s ambitious industrial project in a sector that is currently undergoing huge changes. By taking these steps, Transdev will be able to establish itself as the leading business for sustainable and innovative mobility solutions, reflecting the Caisse des Dépôts Group’s main strategic goals and its role as a partner to local, city and regional authorities.
RETHMANN – a German industrial group with close ties to local authorities and public transport operations: an ideal business for Transdev
RETHMANN is a German industrial group with close ties to local authorities. It also operates in the public transport sector, Transdev’s core business. Its decision to invest in Transdev reflects the group’s long-term strategic goals. RETHMANN, a family-run business, is one of the global leaders in three different areas: in logistics and transport – Transdev’s main business – via its subsidiary Rhenus (29,000 employees); in water, recycling and public and industrial services via its subsidiary REMONDIS (34,000 employees); and in bio-technologies via its subsidiary SARIA (9,000 employees). As part of this deal, the RETHMANN Group’s public transport operations run by its subsidiary Rhenus Veniro will be integrated into Transdev. Transdev will, therefore, become the RETHMANN Group’s fourth main field of business alongside REMONDIS, Rhenus and SARIA. All three of the RETHMANN Group’s divisions have been operating in France since 1995. It employs around 3,000 people at 60 business locations across the country and generated a turnover of 640 million euros in 2017. With 40% of the Transdev Group’s revenue being generated in France, the RETHMANN Group sees this investment as being a great opportunity to grow its transport and logistics operations both on the French market as well as on other international markets.
With around 82,000 employees and a turnover of a good 6.6 billion euros, Transdev is one of the global leaders providing integrated mobility solutions. Following its mission to make people more mobile, Transdev provides its services around the world – especially via its bus and rail networks. It runs, for example, 33 rail networks, 22 tram networks, around 25,000 buses and even 90 ferries, including all the ferries serving Sydney, Australia. Indeed, Transdev even operates cable cars (for example in Bogota, Columbia) and has developed these networks so that they provide passengers with a real alternative to other forms of public transport, taking the pressure off the crowded networks. Transdev leads the shared taxi market in the USA (9 million passengers) and its firm, Connexxion, owns a 30% share of the Dutch ‘transport on demand’ market.
With 82,000 employes and a turnover of a good 6.6 billion euros, Transdev is one of the global leaders providing integrated mobility solutions.
Fresh momentum for Transdev’s development strategy
This latest investment by the RETHMANN Group will help reinforce and speed up Transdev’s development strategy. The RETHMANN Group’s public transport operations (bus and rail) in Germany – a perfect addition to Transdev’s business – and its presence in Eastern Europe and Australia will, in particular, provide a strong basis for growth. This merger will also strengthen the Transdev Group’s activities in France and facilitate the development of innovative systems to tackle mobility challenges. The RETHMANN Group operates buses (urban, national) and trains via its subsidiary Rhenus Veniro. Rhenus Veniro runs bus networks in seven German states, three regional rail networks and is in charge of all public transport in the City of Zwickau. All in all, the company employs more than 2,200 people and has 1,617 buses, 32 trams and eight regional trains, which together cover 65 million kilometres and carry over 100 million passengers a year.
Transdev Germany – top quality bus & train services
This merger of operations will strengthen Transdev’s position as one of the leading private-sector providers of public transport services in Germany without the deal impacting negatively on its business results. Transdev already has a strong presence in Germany where it employs around 5,000 people in 43 subsidiaries across 15 German states. The company can be proud of its fleet: 375 railcars, 4 locomotives, 1,200 company-owned buses and 14 trams are already run under Transdev’s flag – and often under a different flag so that the passengers do not actually realise that Transdev is the owner. Who knows, for example, that Bayerische Regiobahn BRB, NordWestBahn and Württembergische Eisenbahn – to name just three of Transdev’s nine German railway companies – belong to Transdev? And whoever gets on a bus run by Alpina, MittelWeserBus, Stadtbus Schwäbisch Hall or Norddeutsche Verkehrsbetriebe NVB benefits from the same high quality Transdev services as those using a bus operated by one of its other 20 bus companies in Germany.
Strengthening Transdev’s international operations, which already make up over 60% of its business
Transdev has big ambitions and is looking to grow its operations in Germany where it already has a turnover of almost 900 million euros and is the second-biggest player on the regional rail market after the state-owned rail operator, Deutsche Bahn. What’s more, Transdev wishes to expand its networks in Eastern Europe, where the RETHMANN Group is already well established.
By making long-term investments in key innovative technologies, such as autonomous vehicles, digitalisation, robotics and sustainable mobility, the new Transdev will – with the help of its new shareholder RETHMANN – develop into a sustainable and modern mobility operator. This development will be perfectly in tune with Transdev’s innovation priorities, known simply as P.A.C.E: personalised (personnalisé), autonomous (autonome), connected (connecté) and environmentally friendly (écologique).
The Transdev Group’s mission is to offer its customers – passengers, local inhabitants, cities, regions and companies – the best possible services and mobility solutions that are inclusive, innovative, sustainable and adapted to their needs. Which is why Transdev not only wishes to be an operator but also a global integrator of mobility solutions that meet its customers’ daily needs today and in the future. Together with the RETHMANN Group, it will now be able to continue working towards this goal. Both companies would like it to become the partner of choice for both the public and private sectors.
About Transdev:
As an operator and global integrator of mobility solutions, Transdev – “the mobility company” – provides over three billion passenger trips every year, connecting people and places with its efficient and environmentally friendly transport services. Transdev advises and collaborates with public authorities and private sector firms providing sustainable, safe and innovative transport solutions. Its 82,000 employees serve the company’s customers and passengers in 20 countries. In 2017, it generated a turnover of 6.6 billion euros.
Image credits: image 1: Adobe Stock: gui yong nian; image 2, 3: © Transdev
