US vehicle rental group Avis Budget Group Inc (NASDAQ:CAR) announced it had wrapped up its $500m (€384m) takeover of car sharing network Zipcar Inc (NASDAQ:ZIP).
The completion of the transaction comes following its approval by Zipcar’s stockholders and the UK Office of Fair Trading earlier this month. It was also cleared under the US Hart-Scott-Rodino act in February.
A month earlier, Avis Budget said it had agreed to buy the network for $12.25 per share, which is a 49% premium over Zipcar’s closing price on 31 December 2012. It had also noted it would use debt and cash resources to finance the deal.
The company expects this acquisition to help it boost its growth potential in the US and internationally, while also generating annual synergies of up to $70m.
