ALD to take over Leaseplan for nearly €5Bn

ALD Automotive, the leasing and mobility subsidiary of the major French bank Société Générale, has announced that it will take over its competitor Leaseplan for 4.9 billion euros. The joint venture NewALD is to grow primarily with e-mobility services.

The merger is expected to create NewALD, a new fleet giant with 3.5 million vehicles and one of the largest electric vehicle fleets, by the end of 2022, according to both companies. NewALD comes to an annual purchase volume of 800,000 vehicles and is thus targeting – in combination with vehicles leaving the fleet – a growth of six per cent in its inventory.

As a self-declared “global mobility player”, NewALD says it wants to work on three strategic focal points. First, the company wants to push “the transition from ownership to ownership on all fronts” – not only for the business market, but also for private customers. Secondly, it wants to drive the “data-driven digital transformation of the mobility industry”. And particularly relevant from an eMobility perspective: NewALD wants to position itself as a leading provider of “sustainable mobility solutions”. This includes not only electrically driven vehicles, but also multimodal offerings for employee mobility.

LeasePlan is currently owned by a consortium around the financial investor TDR Capital. According to the announcement, the current LeasePlan shareholders will hold 30.75 per cent of NewALD. Société Générale will hold 53 per cent. The major French bank also announced its intention to remain a long-term majority shareholder. The remaining shares are in free float.

“By combining the multiple strengths of ALD and LeasePlan, gaining size, joining forces in digital and creating a leading provider of sustainable mobility solutions, we would transform our industry and be best positioned to deliver even better solutions and value propositions to our enlarged client base,” said ALD CEO Tim Albertsen. LeasePlan CEO Tex Gunning adds: “This transaction would create multiple opportunities to the joint management teams and talents of both companies, across geographies, underpin our focus on sustainability with a clear path to zero emissions mobility and not least deliver strong shareholder returns over the cycles.”

automotive-fleet.com, globalfleet.com, aldautomotive.com, leaseplan.com