Arval completes acquisition of GE Capital fleet services

BNP Paribas has just announced that its subsidiary, leasing company Arval, has completed the acquisition of GE Capital’s European fleet management activity. The two companies had announced in the summer that they had come to an agreement in this direction, and this has now been brought to fruition.

The acquisition means that Arval becomes the largest company in Europe in full service multi-brand vehicle leasing, taking on over 160,000 vehicles in 12 European countries. The vast majority of these – around three quarters – are located in Europe’s three largest markets: France, Germany and the UK. The 'new' Arval will have 860,000 vehicles in Europe.

This European deal forms part of a wider coming together of the two companies. Arval’s North American partner Element Financial Corporation, has also acquired GE Capital's North American fleet management operations in the US and Mexico, as well as GE Capital's fleet management operations in Australia and New Zealand. Element had previously acquired the Canadian operations of GE Capital's North American fleet management business in June of 2013.

All of this means that the Element-Arval Global Alliance is now a global leader with a fleet of over 3 million vehicles in 47 countries.

Arval CEO Philippe Bismut (photo), clearly delighted with the successful conclusion of this huge deal, commented: “We are very happy to welcome colleagues and clients of European GE Capital fleet services. Our clients will now benefit from greater geographical coverage and we will be redoubling our efforts to ensure our service quality and provide them with expert advice. Arval now becomes the number one full service vehicle leasing specialist in Europe. In addition, by enhancing our cooperation with Element Financial, we are creating a stronger, more efficient worldwide network”.