Volkswagen-led consortium completes takeover of Europcar

FRANKFURT — A consortium led by German auto giant Volkswagen said on Tuesday it would remove Europcar from the stock exchange this month as it completes its takeover of the car rental firm.

Europcar would become a "cornerstone" of Volkswagen's plan to offer customers new ways to use its vehicles, the carmaker said in a statement.

Volkswagen expected consumer demand to be "less about owning vehicles" and "more about using them" in future, said Christian Dahlheim, CEO of Volkswagen Financial Services.

The auto group's new platform would "respond to this trend with a highly flexible and convenient offering", Dahlheim said.

The rental company's "advanced fleet management capabilities" and network of stations at airports were key to Volkswagen's plans.

As of June 29, the consortium, backed by British fund Attestor and Dutch mobility platform Pon, held 93.62 per cent of shares in Europcar, Volkswagen said.

The remaining shares would be purchased at 0.51 euros ($0.53) under a "squeeze out" procedure, with Europcar set to exit the Paris stock exchange on July 13.

The consortium first put forward its offer for Europcar last year, valuing the company at 2.5 billion euros.

The deal brings Europcar back into the Volkswagen fold 16 years after the carmaker sold the rental company to French investment firm Eurazeo for 3.3 billion euros in 2006.

The crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic brought Europcar to the brink of failure and forced Eurazeo to cede the rental firm to its creditors last year.

European manufacturers have increasingly eyed the traditionally separate car rental business in recent years but have yet to find a profitable business model. 

Most recently, auto group Stellantis bolstered its rental offering in May by buying BMW and Mercedes-Benz's stake in the car-sharing platform ShareNow.