July 30, 2021
Willkie advised Monarch, a key stakeholder of Europcar Mobility Group on the transaction.
On July 28, Europcar Mobility Group, a leading car rental company headquartered in France, entered into a tender offer support agreement setting the terms and conditions of its proposed acquisition by a consortium led by Volkswagen AG. The consortium, consisting of Volkswagen AG, Attestor Limited and Pon Holdings B.V., made its offer through a dedicated company (called “Green Mobility Holding”) by way of a cash tender offer at €0.50 per share, increased by a potential price supplement of €0.01 per share if the 90% squeeze-out threshold is reached at the completion of the offer.
Alongside Monarch, Europcar’s other main shareholders (namely Anchorage, Carval, Centerbridge, Diameter and Marathon) representing c.55.3% of the Company’s share capital (and c.68% of the share capital of the Company including Attestor), have also entered into arrangements with Europcar and the consortium to tender their shares to the offer.
The offer price (excluding the potential price supplement) represents a premium of 23% to the 1-month weighted average share price and 44% to the 3-month weighted average share as per the last undisturbed trading date, being June 22, 2021.
Following completion of the offer, Green Mobility Holding S.A. will be held jointly by the Consortium members, with Volkswagen holding a majority interest (c.66%).
The transaction which remains subject to filing and antitrust approval is expected to complete in Q4 2021 or Q1 2022.
The Willkie team was led by Paris Corporate & Financial Services partner Gabriel Flandin and London Business Reorganization & Restructuring partner Graham Lane.
Prior to this, Willkie also advised Monarch in respect to Europcar’s debt restructuring in February 2021. The transaction, which was a debt for equity swap saw investors including Monarch, take equity stakes in the group to become the new owners of the car rental group. Europcar started restructuring discussions with creditors in September 2020, amid squeezed revenue due to travel disruption caused by COVID-19.
