Proposed Sale of Dial Group for £269m
Barclays PLC
25 April 2000
BARCLAYS PROPOSED SALE OF THE DIAL GROUP FOR £269 MILLION
Barclays PLC today announces the sale of the Dial Group, a full service
contract hire and fleet management business, to ABN AMRO Lease Holding N.V.
(AALH), the parent company of Lease Plan, for a purchase price of £269
million cash. The acquisition is conditional upon the clearance by, amongst
others, the European Commission under the merger regulation and consultation
with the Group's European Works Councils.
The Dial Group comprises Dial Contracts Limited in the UK, Dial France S.A.,
Dial Italia S.p.A and Dial Spania S.A. The Dial Group is the fifth largest
vehicle leasing company in Europe. As at 31st December, 1999 the Group had
some 98,300 vehicles under operating lease, 8,200 vehicles under finance
lease and an additional 9,200 vehicles under fleet management, making a
total of over 115,000 vehicles under management.
The Dial Group generated profit before tax of £22 million for the year ended
31st December, 1999 and had net assets of £64 million at the end of 1999.
Commenting on the sale of the Dial Group, Chris Lendrum, Barclays Corporate
Banking Chief Executive, said 'Dial is an excellently run and well-known
business, but it does not fit with our core activities at a time of
competing investment opportunities. A new owner will be better placed to
develop the Dial Group at a time of consolidation among its competitors.'
Commenting on the strategic importance of this acquisition, Hugo Levecke,
CEO and Chairman of the Managing Board of AALH said: 'For more than a year
now, the Lease Plan Group has been engaged in a strategic repositioning in
order to ensure continuous growth and to become a global leader in vehicle
fleet management. Our key objectives are to improve our service quality
whilst optimising internal cost efficiency in order to reduce our customers'
fleet management costs. The scale benefits provided by this acquisition
will certainly have a positive impact on the continuous achievement of these
objectives.'
Barclays PLC was advised by Credit Suisse First Boston. ABN AMRO Lease
Holding was advised by ABN AMRO Corporate Finance.
For further information contact:
Chris Tucker
Barclays Corporate Banking PR
Tel: 0207 699 2669
Ian Roundell
Barclays Head of Investor Relations
Tel: 0207 699 2961
Dominique Cardineau
AALH International Communications
Tel: 00 31 36 539 3121
Flora Hennekes
Corporate Secretary AALH
Tel: 00 31 36 539 3016
Notes to editors:
AALH is a wholly owned subsidiary of ABN AMRO Bank N.V. and has been
involved in leasing since 1963, through its subsidiary Lease Plan. The
Lease Plan Group is the market leader in Europe in fleet management and
vehicle leasing, currently managing more than 600,000 vehicles in 25
countries around the world.
With a staff of more than 5,200 employees, AALH realised as at 31st
December, 1999, a consolidated portfolio of lease contracts of EUR 7.8
billion and achieved a net profit of EUR 91.5 million, an increase of 16 per
cent on 1998. The portfolio grew in 1999 by 26 per cent in value. The
combined total income of Lease Plan and Dial will exceed EUR 600 million
with a managed fleet of more than 700,000 vehicles.
Credit Suisse First Boston (Europe) Limited is acting exclusively for
Barclays PLC and no one else in connection with the sale and will not be
responsible to anyone other than Barclays PLC for providing the protections
afforded to customers of Credit Suisse First Boston (Europe) Limited or for
giving advice in relation to the sale.
ABN AMRO Corporate Finance Limited is acting exclusively for ABN AMRO Lease
Holding N.V and no one else in connection with the sale and will not be
responsible to anyone other than ABN AMRO Lease Holding N.V for providing
the protections afforded to customers of ABN AMRO Corporate Finance Limited
or for giving advice in relation to the sale.
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