Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft and the Dutch company Fleet Investments B.V. have closed the sale of leasing and fleet management company LeasePlan Corporation N.V. to a consortium of investors. VW said the total value of the transaction amounts to about EUR3.7bn and it "will have a positive impact on the net liquidity position of the Automotive Division of Volkswagen".
LeasePlan is currently represented in 32 countries throughout the world, has a workforce of more than 7,200 people, with around 1.5 million vehicles under contract and is therefore the world's largest provider of fleet management services. Through the Dutch joint venture Global Mobility Holding B.V., Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft and the Dutch company Fleet Investments B.V., an investment company of the German banker Friedrich von Metzler, each held an indirect stake of 50 percent in LeasePlan.
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The liquidity boost for VW will be welcome as the company faces financial challenges arising from the consequences of the dieselgate scandal. Late last year the company agreed terms for an EUR20bn "bridging loan" with banks to help cover extraordinary costs arising from its diesel emissions scandal. One impact of the scandal has been to damage confidence in the company and wipe billions off its share price. Another has been that it has become more expensive for the company to borrow from its bonds debt market.
