Enterprise Holdings is making a strategic investment in Unidas and amending its master franchise agreement with the Brazilian car rental operator and fleet management company.

Unidas and Enterprise Holdings – which owns the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car brands – became franchise partners in 2012.

For the past four years, Unidas has been operating National and Alamo locations in airport and city locations throughout Brazil.

Once the transaction is completed later this year, Enterprise Holdings will hold a 20 per cent stake in Unidas and have a seat on the company’s board of directors.

The transaction also extends Unidas’ Master Franchise Agreement until 2031.

In addition, Enterprise Holdings’ entire portfolio of car rental brands will be offered throughout Brazil, including its flagship Enterprise Rent-A-Car brand.

“Both companies quickly learned that our fundamental values and strategic priorities are closely aligned, which makes our partnership that much more successful and meaningful,” said Peter Smith, vice president of global franchising at Enterprise Holdings.

“We look forward to growing all three of our car rental brands throughout Brazil for many years to come.”

This past spring, Smith was a keynote speaker at the 2016 International Car Rental Show where he highlighted the company’s rapid international expansion.

A few months later, Enterprise Holdings hosted representatives for a global summit, where franchise partners came together to share best practices and learn more about the Enterprise way.

Today, the Enterprise, National and Alamo brands operate in more than 85 countries, including 29 in Latin America.

In fact, Enterprise Holdings’ global expansion has helped position it near the top of the global travel industry overall, with the company’s annual revenues exceeding those generated by many airlines and most cruise lines, hotels, tour operators and online travel agencies.

The expanded relationship with Unidas will help both companies meet the needs of a growing number of corporate and leisure customers in Brazil.
Unidas has experienced recent growth in sales and market share, in spite of a challenging economic climate.

“Our comprehensive partnership covers business development, knowledge transfer and strategic planning, while enabling us to leverage the strength of Enterprise Holdings’ brands together with Unidas,” said Pedro de Almeida, chief executive, Unidas.

“We are proud and very happy that Enterprise is collaborating with us and investing in our future growth.”

Unidas currently operates a total fleet of approximately 46,000 vehicles for both their rental and fleet management businesses, and serves both leisure and business customers from 215 locations across Brazil.