Private equity business EQT has agreed to acquire Adevinta Spain, which holds a portfolio of leading local marketplaces, including Coches.net, Fotocasa, InfoJobs, Habitaclia and Milanuncios. EQT announced the deal in a news release today.
Financial terms have not been disclosed, but Spain-based business newspaper Expansión reports that the deal values Adevinta Spain at around €2.0 billion ($2.3 billion), citing “industry sources,” while El Economista describes it as “one of the largest transactions in Spain this year.”
“Preliminary bids were submitted two weeks ago, and the market expected a second round of offers, but EQT reportedly disrupted the process by formulating a winning, binding proposal without requiring a lengthy due diligence phase,” Expansión reported. It noted that Adevinta Spain has more than 1,600 employees.
The transaction is subject to customary conditions and approvals. It’s expected to close in Q1 2026.
“Adevinta Spain represents a highly thematic investment within one of EQT’s core sub-sectors, consumer internet,” Bert Janssens, co-head of private capital for Europe and North America at EQT, said.
“This investment reflects our strategy of backing high-growth platforms and partnering with world-class management teams. We’re impressed by the businesses and look forward to supporting Adevinta Spain and its leadership team as they enter this next phase of growth.”
Carlos Santana, partner and head of private equity for Spain and Italy at EQT, commented: “EQT aims to support the continued growth momentum of the [Adevinta Spain’s] various platforms, leveraging our strong digital expertise, our ‘local-to-local’ approach and our extensive global track record in the online classifieds sector,” El País reported.
“We are delighted that EQT has acquired our business in Spain. With its strong track record of scaling businesses, driving innovation and supporting long-term growth, we are confident it will help the Spanish platforms to further thrive and succeed. We congratulate EQT on the acquisition and wish them continued success,” Jacob Aqraou, executive chair at Adevinta, said in the company’s own news release.
“Looking ahead, we are excited to focus on our outstanding portfolio across the rest of Europe, including Mobile.de, Kleinanzeigen, LeBonCoin, Marktplaats and Subito, channelling our investment, resources and support as we drive towards an ever brighter future.”
Sweden-based EQT will acquire the following assets from Adevinta:
- Coches.net — Spain’s No. 1 auto marketplace, with more than 7,000 car dealers and 20 million monthly visits.
- Fotocasa and Habitaclia — the No. 2 property marketplace business in the country, behind Idealista.
- InfoJobs — the country’s No. 1 employment classified site.
- Milanuncios — the No. 2 horizontal in Spain, behind Wallapop.
Adevinta reportedly set a July deadline for bids on its Spanish business, and EQT clearly won the race. The transaction, if completed, will mark a return of focus on Spain for EQT, which sold its majority stake in real estate marketplace Idealista last year.
Interestingly, EQT retains an 18% shareholding in Idealista, the No. 1 property marketplace in Spain. It will now own the No. 2 property business if it acquires Adevinta. Could an eventual merger of the two property businesses be on the cards? Or perhaps the Spanish regulator will require EQT to sell its stake in Idealista for the Adevinta Spain transaction to be completed.
In December, EQT acquired property marketplace business PropertyGuru, which focuses on Southeast Asia.
EQT’s playbook on acquiring marketplace businesses has been fairly straightforward — acquire, grow and exit at significant profit. This is likely the plan for Adevinta Spain. It will look to streamline, reorganize and expand the individual businesses in the portfolio, then sell them probably individually three to five years down the line.
EQT holds €266 billion in total assets under management (€141 billion in fee-generating assets under management) within two business segments — private capital and real assets. It owns portfolio companies across Europe, Asia Pacific and the Americas.
Adevinta was taken private by a consortium led by private equity firms Blackstone and Permira in May last year and has not published data on the financial performance of its Spain-based assets since then. In its last disclosed financials, revenue at Adevinta Spain stood at €56.0 million ($65.0 million U.S.) in Q4 2023, up 4.0% year on year.
This disposal of Adevinta’s Spain-based assets is part of a wider breakup plan by Adevinta’s owners. The company has already disposed of its 50% holding in Ireland-based marketplace operator Distilled and announced a deal to exit Austria-based Willhaben. It is also reportedly considering an IPO for Germany-based auto marketplace Mobile.de.
