Europcar announced on Tuesday that it was in
"advanced discussions"
with the German manufacturer Volkswagen with a view to its acquisition at a high price valuing the rental company at around 2.5 billion euros.
Read also: Why Volkswagen wants to get its hands on Europcar
“In response to market rumors, Europcar Mobility Group confirms that it is in advanced discussions with a consortium made up of Volkswagen Group, Attestor Limited and Pon Holdings BV for an operation on its capital in the form of a possible public tender offer to a price of around 50 euro cents per share, ”
she said in a press release.
"There is no certainty as to the outcome of these discussions and the company will keep the market informed quickly,"
said Europcar on Tuesday. Volkswagen, contacted by AFP, declined to comment.
Europcar had in June refused a first takeover offer for Volkswagen at 0.44 euros per share, valuing it at 2.2 billion euros, without closing the door to the German manufacturer.
Volkswagen had confirmed its desire to buy a
"majority of shares"
of the car rental company.
In view of this transaction, the manufacturer indicated to collaborate with the British investment fund Attestor, and the Dutch mobility specialist Pon.
Until 2006, Europcar was owned by Volkswagen, which sold it for 3.32 billion euros to the French investment company Eurazeo.
Despite this takeover, the company remained close to Volkswagen, ordering one third of its fleet each year.
Difficult context for Europcar
This offer comes in a difficult context for Europcar, which is going through a serious crisis, due to the drop in tourism caused by the coronavirus pandemic. A savings plan, planned before the pandemic, was pushed to one billion euros in 2020, to avoid the fate of its competitor Hertz, which went bankrupt in the United States. Europcar has cut its fleet, dropping at the end of March 2021 to 187,000 vehicles, or -36% over one year. This crisis led Eurazeo to withdraw from the capital, in favor of the group's creditors, five American and British funds, including New Yorkers Anchorage (owner of the MGM studios) and Marathon.
