Europe’s Car Rental Industry Poised to Consolidate?

The rental car business in Europe is likely to soon move into a phase of consolidation, the CEO of market leader Europcar Group SA tells Bloomberg News.

Philippe Germond notes that Europcar and four other top players now account for two-thirds of the European rental car market.

Europcar, a unit of investment firm Eurazeo SA, is preparing an initial public offering in Paris to raise €475 million. Much of the funds will be used to restructure the company's balance sheet. But Germond tells Bloomberg the company also will look for "bolt-on" acquisitions.

The news service notes that Europcar controls 19% of Europe's rental car market compared with 13% for Avis and 12% for Hertz. The company made its first strategic acquisition in January when it bought a majority stake in French car-sharing startup Ubeeqo.