Sixt to sell its leasing business and concentrate on mobility services

25 February 2020

Sixt SE is to fully divest its shareholding in Sixt Leasing as it looks to concentrate on the developing mobility market and digitalisation of its business.

The leasing business was stock-listed in 2015 and is a fully-consolidated subsidiary of Sixt. The company will sell its 41.9% shareholding to Hyundai Capital Bank Europe for a reported €155.6 million, based on a sales price of €18 per share.

Refocused

This decision means that Sixt will focus more on activities in its mobility business segment, which includes vehicle rentals and digital services based around its mobility platform ONE. The company is looking to push forward with its digitalisation plans, including international expansion into the US and Western European markets.

According to the plans, leasing products will cease to be part of SIXT’s product portfolio in future.

As part of the deal, Hyundai Capital Bank will make a voluntary public takeover bid to all other shareholders in Sixt Leasing to acquire the remaining stake of the business. The bank will offer a cash price equivalent to that paid to Sixt. The completion of the sale is dependent on the investment bank reaching an acceptance quote of 55% of the shares in the business, including the 41.9% it has already acquired.

New horizons

The mobility market is growing as consumers view vehicle ownership in a different light. It is no longer necessary to purchase a vehicle and many are instead looking to short-term rentals or ride-hailing services to get around.

It is also a difficult market to break into, a potential reason why Sixt has divested its leasing business. Daimler and BMW joined forces in 2019, merging their respective mobility businesses into one and announcing their intentions to be market leaders. Less than a year later, the companies are pulling out of the US market, as well as London, Brussels and Florence, as profits fall. Ironically, it was BMW’s purchase of Sixt’s shares in joint mobility venture Drive Now, allowing it to merge with Daimler’s car2go, which allowed the company to set up its car-sharing platform.

Moving on

′Following the IPO of Sixt Leasing SE in 2015, the current decision to divest our remaining shareholding constitutes a consistent strategic step,’ comments Erich Sixt, CEO of Sixt SE. ′I would like to thank with all my heart the management board, the executives and the entire workforce of Sixt Leasing SE for their great contribution to the success of the Sixt Group over the last few years and decades.’

′The sale means that we are counting on the consistent expansion of our core business,’ adds Alexander Sixt, CAO of Sixt SE. ′It also means we are focusing even more on the growth and innovation-driven further development of our new mobility services, the digitisation of our company and, in particular, international expansion in the USA and Western Europe. Furthermore, through the deconsolidation of the leasing business, the transaction allows us to shorten our balance sheet significantly and to extend our leading position in our peer group with respect to the equity ratio.’