OREANDA-NEWS. December 15, 2015. KKR, a leading global investment firm, announced today the closing of the acquisition of Allianz Capital Partners' ("ACP") stake in the Selecta Group ("Selecta"). All conditions precedent in the acquisition agreement entered into between KKR and ACP in October 2015 have been fulfilled, including the consent of Selecta's bondholders.

The partnership with KKR aims at further strengthening Selecta's leading position in European vending and coffee services. Selecta is geographically diversified across Europe with operations in 21 countries and a special focus on Switzerland, Sweden and France. The company operates more than 145,000 vending machines, employing approximately 4,500 people, and serves more than 6 million consumers daily.

Under ACP's stewardship, Selecta has been able to maintain and strengthen its competitive position despite a difficult overall vending environment in recent years. KKR has already supported Selecta since 2014, when KKR provided €220 million in long-term financing as part of the Group's overall refinancing, which was a major milestone for Selecta in driving identified growth initiatives.