France-based car leasing company ALD Automotive has agreed to sell 3% of its assets — worth approximately €1.7 billion ($1.8 billion U.S.) — to Crédit Agricole Consumer Finance and Stellantis as a part of a deal it struck last year with EU regulators to acquire its Netherlands-based counterpart LeasePlan.
The deal is expected to close this year. Terms were not disclosed.
Under the agreement, ALD will transfer ownership of its subsidiaries in Ireland, Portugal and Norway, as well as LeasePlan’s subsidiaries in Luxembourg, Finland and the Czech Republic, representing “100,000 vehicles or 3% of the total combined fleet of ALD and LeasePlan, as of 31 December 2022,” according to the company. The deal excludes NF Fleet Norway, which is co-owned by ALD and Nordea.
“The closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory and antitrust approvals and the completion of the acquisition of LeasePlan by ALD,” it said in a news release.
In January 2022, ALD proposed a 100% acquisition of LeasePlan for €4.9 billion. In November that year, the European Commission approved the takeover on condition that the acquirer forego parts of its leasing operations and other assets across Europe.
According to a statement issued by Stellantis, “This transaction would consolidate the partnership between Stellantis and Crédit Agricole Consumer Finance and accelerate the development of the two companies in strategic European countries, in line with the ambitions of the two companies to be ranked among the European leaders in automotive financing … This announcement constitutes an immediate acceleration of the two companies’ ambitions in mobility and vehicle long-term leasing.”
Stellantis Group was formed by the merger of PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler in 2021. Its automotive brands include Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS Automobiles, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram and Vauxhall. The company also has a 70% stake in Aramis, which operates a number of digital auto retail brands, including AramisAuto (France), CarSupermarket (U.K.), Clicars (Spain) and Cardoen (Belgium). Crédit Agricole is a Paris-based cooperative financial institution.