TDR in €3.7bn LBO for LeasePlan

The consortium of new backers includes TDR; Dutch pension funds such as PGGM; Danish pension fund ATP; Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC; Luxembourg-based Luxinva; and Goldman Sachs's merchant banking subsidiary, among others.

The consortium will finance LeasePlan's acquisition with an equity injection via the newco LP Group BV, representing approximately 50% of the €3.7bn purchase price, with the remainder consisting of debt facilities.

The fresh capital will assist LeasePlan as it pursues growth across the 32 countries in which it is currently active.

The transaction, yet to be given the green light by the European Central Bank and the Dutch Central Bank, is expected to be finalised towards year-end.

It will see LeasePlan owners Volkswagen and Fleet Investments fully divest the business via the sale of their respective 50% stakes.

Volkswagen had been a shareholder in LeasePlan since 2004, when it led a consortium of investors that fully acquired the business from ABN Amro Bank for an estimated €2bn. Meanwhile, Fleet Investments, the investment arm of German banker Friedrich von Metzler, picked up a stake in LeasePlan in May 2009.

According to unquote" data, the takeover of LeasePlan represents the fourth largest PE-backed buyout to ever take place in the Benelux region. The most substantial deal remains the acquisition of Luxembourg-based telecommunications equipment business Intelsat for $16.6bn in June 2007.

The second and third positions are held by the purchases of Dutch information group The Nielsen Company and silicon systems specialist NXP Semiconductors for €8.7bn and €8.3bn, respectively.

Debt
The transaction will be supported via a €480m mandatory convertible note and a €1.55bn cash-pay debt package supplied by an international syndicate of lenders.

Company
Founded in 1963, LeasePlan offers financing and operational fleet management and driver mobility services. The business manages approximately 1.42 million vehicles worldwide for clients ranging from SMEs to multinationals.

Headquartered in Almere, the Netherlands, LeasePlan operates in 31 additional countries including the UK, France, Germany, Russia, India, the US, Canada, Mexico and Brazil. It employs a workforce of 6,800 professionals, 85% of whom are based outside the Netherlands.

The business has €19.7bn in total assets and reported a €372m net profit in 2014, a 14% uptick from the €326m profit recorded in 2013.

People
PGGM was represented by the head of its private equity team Eric-Jan Vink. Vahid Daemi is CEO at LeasePlan.

Although the acquiring consortium is expected to appoint new members to the company's board, CEO Vahid Daemi will stay at the helm of the management team.

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