Volkswagen launches $3.4bn Europcar bid in mobility services bet

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German automotive giant Volkswagen has launched a bid to acquire the car rental group Europcar in a $3.4 billion (€2.86 billion) deal. 

Teaming up with VW for the deal, which proposes a price of €0.50 per share, is Dutch mobility group Pon Holdings and asset manager Attestor Limited.

The €0.50 per share price could be topped up with an extra €0.01 per share if 90% of the company's shareholders agree to the bid.

The closing price of Europcar shares yesterday was €0.485 per share.

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Europcar boasts an international rental network in more than 140 countries, including 6,500 employees and a fleet of over  350,000 vehicles.

"The mobility market is changing rapidly as customers increasingly demand new and innovative on-demand mobility solutions, such as subscription and sharing models to complement car ownership," Volkswagen Chief Executive Herbert Diess said.

"Europcar provides advanced fleet management capabilities as well as a broad network of stations at major airports, railway stations and city locations and will help accelerate Volkswagen's delivery of its ambitious mobility services targets."

The German auto firm recently unveiled its 2030 strategy, which sees software and services as being key drivers for the global automotive market moving forward, which is estimates will more than double to €5 trillion by the end of this decade.

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So far, 68% of Europcar investors have agreed to tender their shares, including Anchorage, Centerbridge and Attestor. The minimum acceptance threshold for this is 67%. 

VW said that the transaction has already received approval from its supervisory board.

The offer will go before French antitrust authorities sometime before the end of the third quarter and the deal is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year, or the first quarter of 2022.

"For our customers as well as for our employees, two global mobility service companies joining forces today makes a lot of sense and has great value creation potential," said Europcar CEO Caroline Parot.

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