Avis Budget Group buys Italian car rental service for 170M

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Avis Budget Group Inc. announced Monday that it will acquire Italy’s fourth-largest vehicle rental service, Maggiore Group, for approximately $170 million.The deal for Maggiore, which is expected to close in the second quarter of 2015, will add approximately $160 million of annual revenue to the Parsippany-based vehicle rental service provider.

“Maggiore has an outstanding market presence in Italy for both car and van rentals, which makes the company an excellent addition to our existing operations there,” Ronald L. Nelson, Avis Budget Group Chairman and CEO, said in a prepared statement. “The Italian vehicle rental market has been resilient and profitable, particularly in the peak summer season, and I’m excited that we will be able to acquire this business at a multiple that will be accretive to our earnings.”

The addition of Maggiore’s more than 140 locations will make Avis Budget Group the largest vehicle rental company in Italy.

“We deliver the Maggiore Group into the solid hands of Avis Budget, content that the Maggiore brand will be developed and strengthened in the long term in the global market,” Vittorio Maggiore, the group’s president, said in a prepared statement. “Avis Budget has always been committed to excellent customer service, a philosophy that the Maggiore Group has always believed in. I am sure that this common approach will be beneficial to our customers in the future.”

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