VW, Metzler to Sell LeasePlan Fleet Management Business for $4 Billion
Volkswagen AG and German banker Friedrich von Metzler agreed to sell fleet-management company LeasePlan Corp. for 3.7 billion euros ($4 billion) to a group of investors including TDR Capital LLP.
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Dutch and Danish pension funds and a unit of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. also are part of the group buying the company, Almere, Netherlands-based LeasePlan said in a statement. The deal requires regulatory approval and is expected to close by the end of the year.
With VW expanding its own fleet-management operations, “the time has, in our opinion, now come to hand LeasePlan over to new investors,” VW Chief Financial Officer Hans Dieter Poetsch said in a separate statement.
LeasePlan, which says it is the world’s biggest fleet company, employs 6,800 people to manage 1.42 million vehicles in 32 countries for companies such as ABB Ltd. and Randstad Holding NV. Its net income rose 14% last year to 372 million euros.
VW and Metzler each hold 50 percent of LeasePlan through Global Mobility Holding BV. The Wolfsburg, Germany-based automaker acquired its stake in 2004 as part of a 2 billion-euro deal.
The agreement comes three months after talks with buyers were terminated because of regulatory issues. Private equity firm TDR Capital was the front-runner before talks fell apart in April.
