SAINT-QUENTIN EN YVELINES, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:
Europcar Group (Paris:EUCAR), the European leader in vehicle rental services and a major player in mobility markets, announced the signing of an agreement to acquire Locaroise1, the third-largest French franchisee in terms of revenue. The agreement represents one of the first tangible steps of the Group’s ambitious acquisition plan, designed to accelerate value creation for its shareholders.
Locaroise has a long-established commercial presence in the Northern region of France, from the extreme North of Paris metropolitan area to the South region of Lille. The company has 19 locations and an average fleet of 2,200 vehicles. Small and medium-sized businesses make up the bulk of its customers. In 2015, Locaroise generated revenues of approximately 17 million euros.
The investment representing a cash outflow of 9 million euros, is being carried out by the Group’s French subsidiary, Europcar France. The transaction, based on a pre-synergy Adjusted Corporate EBITDA multiple of approximately 4x2, will become strongly accretive within the next quarters. Similarly to its other recent acquisitions, Europcar Group’s expertise and operational excellence will give rise to important synergies for Europcar France, in terms of both revenue and profitability, particularly through the execution of the following initiatives:
- Implementation of the Group’s “Revenues and Capacity Management” strategy and tools;
- Integration within Europcar’s IT system, Greenway®, which offers a unique solution covering all of the functional processes connected with vehicle rental activities;
- Optimization of vehicle management and costs through geographical continuity and fleet consolidation;
- Strengthening of operating leverage, particularly through Shared Service Centers.
“We are very pleased with this acquisition, which perfectly illustrates what we announced with the release of our first quarter results concerning our commitment to value creation for shareholders through acquisitions and through the development of new mobility services, alongside the deployment of our Fast Lane transformation plan. This acquisition meets all the criteria we set for ourselves for franchisees in view of executing our growth strategy: acquisition of a strong customer base, geographical complementarity, strictly-defined financial criteria, and rapid return on investment. I am convinced that the dynamic the Group has entered into will allow us to bring other transactions to fruition in the coming weeks and months,” said Philippe Germond, Chairman of Europcar Group’s Management Board.
About Europcar Group
Europcar shares (EUCAR) are listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange. Europcar is the European leader in vehicle rental service and is also a major player in mobility markets. Active in more than 140 countries, Europcar serves customers through an extensive vehicle rental network comprised of its wholly-owned subsidiaries as well as sites operated by franchisees and partners. In addition to the Europcar® brand, the company offers low-cost vehicle rentals under the InterRent® brand. A commitment to customer satisfaction drives the company and its 6,000 people forward and provides the impetus for continuous development of new services. The Europcar Lab was created to respond to tomorrow’s mobility challenges through innovation and strategic investments, such as Ubeeqo and E-Car Club.
1 The finalization of this operation could take place in the coming weeks and is subject to customary closing conditions.
2 Europcar Group estimate, based on 2015 figures.
