Europcar to acquire National and Alamo in Europe
A major consolidation in European car rental has been sparked by Europcar.
The firm is to acquire Vanguard Car Rental Holdings’ European businesses for 670 million euros (£450m) which includes the National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car brands.
The deal makes Europcar the leading rental company in the UK and reinforces its position as European leader in its field.
A transatlantic partnership between Europcar and Vanguard will enable the European company to tp into a global network.
Vanguard EMEA opertes more than 43,000 vehicles and achieved revenues of 405 million euros last year with over two million rental contracts. the UK represents 84% of revenues for the company which has 3,200 staff.
Europcar has over 200,000 vehicles and 2,950 outlets, a workforce of 5,600 and saw revenues of 1.28 billion euros in 2005.
Europcar and the Naional and Alamo business will continue to operate as two separate networks but there will be “synergies” in fleet management, a statement said.
The deal is subject to approval by competition authorities.
Europcarchairman Xavier Marin said: “Within six months of its acquisition, and with the support of its new shareholder Eurazeo, Europcar is achieving two major milestones in its development. First, the group becomes the leading car rental operator in the UK market, thereby considerably strengthening its position as the lagest car rental comoany in Europe.
“Second, the strategic alliance with Vanguard enales Europcar to become a worldwide car rental player by offering clients access to one of the US and Canada’s premier networks.”
Report by Phil Davies
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