Updated: ALD’s £4.1bn acquisition of LeasePlan completed

ALD’s £4.1 billion (€4.8bn) acquisition of LeasePlan has been completed by a consortium led by TDR Capital.

With a combined worldwide managed fleet of 3.3 million vehicles, the merger also brings together two of the UK’s biggest leasing companies.

LeasePlan was ranked as the fourth largest leasing company in the UK, according to FN50 2022, with a risk fleet of almost 177,000 cars and vans.

ALD Automotive was ranked fifth in FN50 2022, with a risk fleet of almost 145,000 cars and vans.

The combined risk fleet would make the new business the UK’s largest leasing company, with more than 300,000 vehicles, replacing Lex Autolease at the top of the FN50.

The acquisition of LeasePlan by ALD Automotive was approved by both the European Commission and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) last year. 

To address the Commission's concerns, ALD divested its operational leasing business in Ireland, Norway and Portugal, as well as LeasePlan's businesses in the Czech Republic, Finland and Luxembourg.

The CMA found that the merger did “not give rise to a realistic prospect of a substantial lessening of competition”. 

Following the completion of the acquisition, ALD Automotive and LeasePlan in the UK will begin the process of integration.

Alfonso Martinez Cordero, currently managing director of LeasePlan UK, will lead the newly combined leasing business as country managing director. He will be supported by Tim Laver, currently managing director of ALD Automotive in the UK, who has been selected to become deputy country managing director for the UK.

Martinez Cordero said: “It’s an exciting time to unite two market-leading organisations into one digitally enabled mobility provider, to deliver sustainable solutions for our customers.

"Our combined expertise, experience and scale will allow us to bring to market an unrivalled and truly game-changing service offering.    

“It’s my privilege to have been selected to lead us through this period of integration and positive change, supported by one of the most talented teams in the industry.” 

Since being appointed managing director of LeasePlan UK in 2018, Martinez Cordero has played a key role in the strategic direction and business performance across the corporate, SME, public sector and consumer markets.

Before joining the UK team, he served as chief financial officer of Spain before becoming managing director of LeasePlan Italy seven years later in 2012.

Laver was appointed managing director in July 2019, having been ALD Automotive UK’s director of finance and risk since January 2006.

Prior to joining ALD Automotive, he worked in the internal audit team at Arval. Prior to Arval he qualified as a chartered accountant at Ernst & Young.

It was announced last year that the new combined business would be called NewALD, but Fleet News understands that this is a "working title" and a new name will be announced in the coming months.

“We are all very excited about starting this new venture together,” Tim Albertsen, ALD CEO

ALD’s CEO, Tim Albertsen, said it was a “historical day” for ALD and LeasePlan and marked the beginning of a “new era in mobility”.

“By bringing together our complementary capabilities and expertise, we are well positioned to capture the sector’s tremendous growth opportunities,” he added.

“Our focus going forward will be to leverage our unique position to lead the energy transition through innovative solutions, including digital platforms, to encourage large scale adoption of sustainable mobility, whether it be through low emission vehicles or multi-mobility solutions.

“With a combination of talent at ALD and LeasePlan, our teams are fully committed to creating the leading global sustainable mobility player and delivering value for all of our stakeholders.

“We are all very excited about starting this new venture together.”

The deal was first announced in January, 2022, with talks having started the previous October.    

French bank Societe Generale will remain the long-term majority shareholder of ALD, with 52.6% of the capital and a 40-month lock-up period, during which time it cannot sell its shares.

The former LeasePlan shareholders hold 30.75% of the combined entity’s capital and are subject to a 12-month lock-up commitment, while the free float – shares that can be publicly traded and are not restricted – represents 16.6%.

As a result of its newly acquired regulated status and changes to its shareholding structure, ALD has increased the number of its board of directors from 10 to 12 members, with Hacina Py, chief sustainability officer at Societe Generale, and Mark Stephens, partner at TDR Capital, appointed board members.

To lead the strategic development of the combined entity, Albertsen, CEO of ALD SA, has created a new leadership team comprised of a general management team and a newly formed executive committee.

The general management team includes Albertsen, John Saffrett, the current group deputy CEO of ALD SA and Berno Kleinherenbrink, previously chief commercial officer and cluster director at LeasePlan, who has been appointed group deputy chief executive officer.

They join 13 others to form ALD SA’s executive committee.