• In the future Daimler Buses will focus on the production of buses over 8 tons and chassis; it will sell its minibus plant in Dortmund to the German industrial group AEQUITA
• Employment for all 240 employees at the site ensured
• AEQUITA will continue to produce Mercedes-Benz minibuses in the future and further develop the facility

Stuttgart/Dortmund – In the future Daimler Buses will concentrate on its core business and therefore on the production of complete buses and chassis over 8 tons. In light of this renewed focus Daimler Buses sold the Dortmund-based Mercedes-Benz Minibus GmbH to the Munich-based owner-managed industrial group AEQUITA. AEQUITA takes over the minibus company with around 240 employees, thereby securing the future of the Dortmund site. Responsible parties signed a corresponding 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.

Till Oberwörder, Head of Daimler Buses and Managing Director of EvoBus GmbH: “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. 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. The sale of our minibus plant in Dortmund takes us an important step towards that direction. Our focus was on maintaining jobs at the site and providing the plant promising prospects for the future. We are therefore very pleased that we have found a very good solution in the AEQUITA Group as a buyer."

Mirko Sgodda, Head of Sales, Marketing and Aftersales Daimler Buses, adds: “Since 2008 we have been producing high-quality minibuses at the Dortmund location for use in public transport, among other applications. The highly competent team has used the past few years to renew this product range and bring the new generation of Sprinters to the market. Our goals in selling Mercedes-Benz Minibus GmbH were to secure employment at the facility and to continue production of minibuses. We are very pleased to have succeeded in doing so with the AEQUITA Group. My big thanks go to the employees at the site, who have made a significant contribution to the success of the Mercedes-Benz minibuses with their commitment and know-how over the past few years.”

Dr.-Ing. Axel Geuer, Managing Partner of the AEQUITA Group: “We are very pleased to welcome Mercedes-Benz Minibus GmbH employees to our group. The minibus business has very good growth opportunities, which we will tackle together in a long-term partnership with Daimler. Daimler is already AEQUITA’s largest customer, accounting for more than 25 percent of our sales. We thank Daimler for the trust in us and aim to further strengthen this close partnership."

About Mercedes-Benz Minibus GmbH

Mercedes-Benz Minibus GmbH is a subsidiary of EvoBus GmbH, 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.

About AEQUITA

AEQUITA is a Munich-based family office investing in special situations including corporate carve-outs, successions, and recovery situations across Europe. With a strong capital base, entrepreneurial expertise and a partnership approach, the team focuses on the acquisition and long-term value enhancement of companies that can benefit from an operational engagement. AEQUITA brings a fresh and sound view to all areas of the business, such as sales development, production optimization and efficiency measures, which can help management to drive sustainable growth. AEQUITA contributes not only the capital, but also the vision, inspiration and operational impetus needed to reach the next stage in the development of its companies and their success stories.