Avis to acquire car sharing service Zipcar for $500M
Posted January 2, 2013 8:18 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Car rental company Avis has struck a $500-million deal to acquire Zipcar, the vehicle sharing service announced Wednesday.
The deal, which is expected to close this spring, is subject to approval by Zipcar shareholders.
“We see car sharing as highly complementary to traditional car rental, with rapid growth potential and representing a scalable opportunity for us as a combined company,” Ronald L. Nelson, Avis Budget Group chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
“We expect to apply Avis Budget’s experience and efficiencies of fleet management with Zipcar’s proven, customer-friendly technology to accelerate the growth of the Zipcar brand and to provide more options for Zipsters in more places. We also expect to leverage Zipcar’s technology to expand mobility solutions under the Avis and Budget brands.”
Car sharing is a nearly $400-million business in the United States. Under the deal, Zipcar’s headquarters will be moved to Boston. Zipcar has more than 760,000 members in 20 major cities and college and university campuses in the U.S., Canada and Europe.
