domingo, 1 de abril de 2007

Vanguard Car Rental Holdings LLC Announces Strategic Alliance with Europcar to Provide Global Car Rental Solution

TULSA, Okla., Nov. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Vanguard Car Rental Holdings LLC
("Vanguard"), operating under the National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car
brands, announced today that it has entered into a strategic alliance with
Europcar Groupe S.A. ("Europcar") to provide a global car rental solution
to corporate and leisure customers.
"Our partnership with Europcar will enable us to better serve our
customers and provide them with a competitive global alternative in the car
rental market," said William E. Lobeck, President and Chief Executive
Officer of Vanguard. "They will also benefit from having access to an
enhanced network that will truly deliver the highest quality car rental
experience worldwide for our National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car
customers."
"Europcar and Vanguard share a common vision of the vehicle rental
market and today we are forging an alliance that will enable us to offer
our clients a premium quality service anywhere in the world," said
Salvatore Catania, CEO of Europcar.
Under the alliance, National, Alamo and Europcar will be operating in
over 150 countries with access to nearly 6,000 locations and a fleet of
over 500,000 vehicles.
As a part of this alliance, Vanguard also entered into a definitive
agreement with Europcar to sell the equity of its subsidiary, Vanguard Car
Rental EMEA Holdings Ltd., which operates in Europe, the Middle East and
Africa (EMEA). The sale is subject to regulatory approvals and other
customary closing conditions. The transaction is expected to close in the
first quarter of 2007.
About Vanguard Car Rental Holdings LLC
As operator of the National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car brands,
Vanguard Car Rental Holdings LLC comprises one of the leading car rental
companies, with more than 3,200 locations in 83 countries, including the
United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Caribbean, Latin America, Asia,
the Pacific Rim, Africa, the Middle East and Australia.
About Europcar
The French investment company Eurazeo has a majority holding in
Europcar, via the Europcar Group. Europcar is a European leader in
passenger car and light utility vehicle rentals. Its network comprises over
2,950 rental outlets in over 145 countries. With a fleet of over 200,000
vehicles and almost 7 million rental contracts signed in 2005, Europcar
provides its services to its clients (business and private) throughout
Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region.
In 2005, Europcar achieved revenues of 1.28 billion euros. In the first
half of 2006, revenues increased by 14.6 per cent compared to the first
half of 2005. The Group has a workforce of 5,600 employees.


SOURCE Vanguard Car Rental Group Inc.

Enterprise Rent-a-Car Buys Vanguard, a Rival

By LANDON THOMAS Jr.
Published: March 31, 2007

In the latest sign of consolidation within the car rental industry, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, the largest car rental company in North America, said yesterday that it had acquired a smaller rival, Vanguard Car Rental, which owns the National and Alamo brands.

The chief executive of Enterprise, Andrew C. Taylor, said that the acquisition would complement the company’s current business.

“The future belongs to the service providers who offer the broadest array of services for anyone who needs or wants to rent a car,” Mr. Taylor said.

With $9 billion in revenues, a fleet of about 880,000 vehicles and its network of 7,000 locations, Enterprise’s strength is its breadth and penetration into cities across the country. The company is based in St. Louis.

Vanguard, on the other hand, specializes in serving corporate customers at major airport locations.

The acquisition comes during a time of increasing investor interest in the car rental business as rental prices have increased in the aftermath of an effort by the major automakers to not flood the rental market with discounted vehicles.

In 2005, Hertz was acquired from Ford Motor by a group of private equity investors who quickly engineered a public offering at $15 a share last year. The stock closed yesterday at $23.70.

Vanguard, which is based in Tulsa, Okla., is owned by Cerberus, the private equity firm that bought the company out of bankruptcy when it was the ANC Rental Corporation. The National and Alamo brands were previously owned by Republic Industries, controlled by H. Wayne Huizenga.

Last year, in a filing for a public offering, Vanguard said it earned $105.3 million in 2005 on $2.89 billion in revenue.