BMW-owned leasing firm Alphabet has acquired ING Car Lease in a deal worth 637m Euros (£570m).
The deal will double Alphabet’s UK fleet size to just under 100,000 vehicles, instantly boosting the firm from the edge of the top ten into third place amongst UK leasing firms when it is finalized towards the end of this year, subject to regulatory approval.
ING Car Lease operates in eight European countries with a total of 240,000 vehicles and around 1200 employees.
“In the growing European fleet management market, ING Car Lease is the perfect fit to complement the activities of Alphabet,” said Norbert van den Eijnden, head of Alphabet. “Alphabet will increase the number of company car contracts under management to approximately 540,000 and thus consolidate its competitive lead in the European fleet management market,”
Alphabet’s official statement said the “strengthening of the fleet management business is in line with the BMW Group Strategy to be the leading provider of premium products and premium services for individual mobility. There is an increasing demand for flexible mobility and usage solutions. Corporate Car Sharing within the fleet management is one of Alphabet’s current initiatives in order to be prepared for future demands.”
“Alphabet is concentrating on the growing full-service fleet management sector and is developing products and services for sustainable and efficient corporate mobility management,” said van den Eijnden. “Alphabet already assists our corporate customers to manage a sustainable fleet with a focus on low fuel consumption. Fleet management will also support the introduction of electric vehicles.”
There’s no word yet on if and how the two businesses will be merged in the UK.
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