Arval, the fleet leasing subsidiary of BNP
Paribas, announced the sale of its fuel card business AllStar to
fleet card provider FleetCor Technologies for £194m.
Inherited from a 2000 acquisition, the UK fuel
card business was a unique activity within Arval, but expansion
difficulties and the niche quality of the sector led them to shop
around for a buyer.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Bart Beckers, general manager of Arval UK,
said: “We’ve known FleetCor for a number of years; they were one of
the typical industry players that we had contact with. We looked at
a number of players, but it really came down to who we had synergy
with.”
The transaction includes a commercial
agreement between the two companies for five years minimum. As a
result, Arval will continue to provide fuel management solutions as
part of its fleet management offer and the companies will work
together to deliver fuel products and services.
Beckers added that the fuel card business was
too niche for Arval, and proved difficult to leverage beyond the
UK.
“To expand globally you need a sophisticated
IT system, but interfaces, for example, are different from country
to country. AllStar has a good position and standing in the UK, but
other countries already have established fuel card businesses.”
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataAt present, AllStar has approximately 40
thousand customers and about one million cardholders, a large
portion of whom are small and medium sized enterprises.
Another problem for Arval was potential third
party partners viewing Arval as a direct competitor. Becker
commented: “It was quite tricky for AllStar to offer services to a
competitor of Arval, particularly, we were finding, when it came to
IT services. FleetCor provides global expertise, scale, best
practises and experience in the fuel card market, and by working
with them over the coming years, we expect our fuel management
products and services to be enhanced further, which will benefit
our customers.”
Andrew Blazye, chief executive officer of
FleetCor Europe, said: “We believe that this sale is a positive
move for AllStar employees, partners and customers. FleetCor brings
global fuel card expertise, best practices and experience to
AllStar, which, we believe, will enable us to improve the products
and services available to its customers.”
FleetCor financed the
all cash acquisition with available cash and financing through its
existing credit facilities. FleetCor expects the acquisition
to be accretive to revenues and earnings in 2012
