PARIS (Reuters) – Europcar’s hedge fund owners and Volkswagen are in advanced talks about a takeover of the French car rental company after a first bid from the German firm was rejected in June, according to two sources close to the matter.
Volkswagen, which has owned Europcar in the past, is exploring a tie-up that could be announced as soon as Wednesday if talks about an agreement in principal are successful, although no deal has been reached yet, the sources said.
One of the sources said Volkswagen was making a renewed approach at 0.50 euros per share, following its last offer at 0.44 euros, and that the companies’ respective boards were due to meet on Wednesday. The pricing details could yet change, the source added.
Volkswagen declined to comment, as did Anchorage, the lead fund which took control of Europcar last year along with other investment firms.
(Reporting by Gwenaelle Barzic and Arno Schuetze, Additional reporting by Jan Schwartz, Editing by Sarah White)
