Volkswagen in consortium with UK-based asset manager Attestor and Dutch mobility provider Pon Holdings has wrapped up the previously announced €2.9bn takeover of Europcar Mobility Group, a French car rental company.
The takeover offer for the Euronext Paris-listed Europcar Mobility was launched by the trio under their Green Mobility Holding consortium in July 2021.
A total of 4.6 billion Europcar Mobility’s shares were tendered into the offer. Following this, Green Mobility has 93.62% of the share capital and at least 93.6% of the voting rights of the French company, which will be delisted shortly from Euronext Paris.
Europcar Mobility provides a variety of car and van rental services. Its major brands are Europcar, Goldcar, Ubeeqo, InterRent, and Buchbinder.
The mobility service and rental car company provides solutions worldwide through a network in more than 140 countries. It offers advanced fleet management capabilities and has a network of stations at major railway stations, airports, and important city locations.
Volkswagen said that the acquisition is another key milestone of its NEW AUTO strategy announced in July 2021. The group’s target is to secure a considerable share of the global market for mobility services, which is expected to grow quickly in the course of the decade.
The German automobile major said that the Green Mobility partners will expedite Europcar Mobility’s transformation to become the top player in sustainable mobility with the help of technology and data. The French firm will continue its existing partnerships and simultaneously is expected to become a cornerstone of the future mobility platform of Volkswagen.
Volkswagen financial services CEO Christian Dahlheim said: “We are really excited that our customer-centric vision of future mobility materialises with the closing of the Europcar transaction. Its dedicated team brings important capabilities and assets to the table that help us to realise our plans swiftly.
“Our expectation is that by far most people will still prefer individual mobility by 2030, but it will be more about using and less about owning vehicles.
“Our new mobility platform will perfectly respond to this trend with a highly flexible and convenient offering at our customers’ fingertip. Autonomous vehicles will be the next gamechanger and lift the platform to an even higher level on the way to NEW AUTO.”
