Europcar Group has signed an agreement with Investindustrial to acquire Goldcar, Europe’s largest low-cost car rental company.

Goldcar is a major low cost operator in Europe thanks to its strong positions in Spain and Portugal and its strong know-how in running a lean and efficient pure low-cost operating model.

Goldcar has built an impressive track record of organic growth (delivering 17 per cent revenue growth per annum between 2008 and 2016) and best-in-class Corporate EBITDA margins and FCF conversion rates.

In 2016, Goldcar generated revenues of around €240 million and an estimated adjusted Corporate EBITDA of approximately €48 million.

With this strategic acquisition, the Europcar Group will increase its exposure to three major growth engines - the Mediterranean region, the leisure segment and the low cost segment – and will become a major player in the fast growing European low cost segment.

The acquisition of Goldcar will create value for the Europcar Group as it will strengthen the group’s expertise and know-how in low cost operations and will therefore significantly improve the revenue growth prospects of Europcar’s low-cost business unit.

The acquisition is subject to customary conditions precedent, including its approval by antitrust authorities, and is expected to close in the second half of the year 2017.

The proposed transaction, which is expected to generate close to €30 million of cost synergies per annum by 2020, is based on a corporate enterprise value of €550 million and a post-synergy adjusted corporate EBITDA around 7x.

Europcar Group expects the transaction to be materially accretive to its earnings per share from the first full year post closing onwards.

A dedicated bridge-financing has been signed with a large and international banking syndicate to support the binding offer made by Europcar Group and to cover Goldcar’s corporate and fleet-related refinancing needs.

Caroline Parot, chief executive, Europcar Group, said: “Following the acquisition of Buchbinder in May, the acquisition of Goldcar is yet another major strategic step for the Europcar Group as it will enable us to become a major player in the European low cost segment.

“This strategic move is fully in line with our 2020 Ambition and boosts our confidence in our ability to deliver the targets we announced in October 2016 of reaching at least €3 billion of annual revenue and an adjusted corporate EBITDA margin at the group level of at least 14 per cent by the end of 2020.

“With the combination of InterRent, Buchbinder and Goldcar, we will build the platform and the scale we were aiming for in the low cost segment.

“Hence, we expect our low cost business unit to generate a significant portion of our group revenues in the future and more importantly to anchor the development of the group as a whole.”