Reuters : Volkswagen explores acquisition of car rental group Europcar: sources

Volkswagen explores acquisition of car rental group Europcar: sources

(Reuters) - Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) is in talks to acquire French car rental firm Europcar Mobility Group SA (EUCAR.PA), in a deal that would allow the German car maker to better capitalize on its fleet, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

The acquisition would come as Europcar struggles to cope with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has weighed on travel around the world and sapped demand for car rentals. It would represent a reversal for Volkswagen, which sold Europcar to investment firm Eurazeo SE (EURA.PA) in 2006.

Volkswagen has reached out to Europcar to express its interest in an acquisition and carry out due diligence, one of the sources said. The talks are preliminary and a deal is far from certain given the financial toll of the coronavirus outbreak on Europcar, the sources added.

Europcar, which has market capitalization of 390 million euros ($441 million) and net debt as of the end of March of more than 1 billion euros, has also attracted interest from private equity firms, including Apollo Global Management Inc (APO.N), the sources added.

Volkswagen, Apollo and Eurazeo, which currently owns close to 30% of Europcar, declined to comment.

When Volkswagen divested Europcar in 2006, it said it could be a mobility services provider without owning a short-term vehicle hire company. A new deal for Europcar would allow Volkswagen to buy it back at a significant discount to the 3.32 billion euros it sold it for 14 years ago.

Europcar is hoping to avoid the fate of U.S. peer Hertz Global Holdings Inc (HTZ.N), which filed for bankruptcy protection in May.

Last month, Europcar said it secured a 307 million euro financing package to manage through the coronavirus crisis, which included a 220 million euro loan guaranteed at 90% by the French state.

>>> What to look at today - 24th of June 2020

Global stocks and equity futures were mixed Wednesday as investors weighed their appetite for risk assets against a continuing acceleration in coronavirus cases across the American sun belt. The dollar remained under pressure.
U.S. futures fluctuated, while European contracts retreated. Shares slipped in Tokyo but climbed in Seoul after Kim Jong Un suspended military actions against South Korea. Treasuries were little changed. New Zealand’s dollar reversed gains after the central bank said the balance of economic risks remained to the downside.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 closed well off its earlier 1.2% gain on reports that a surge in cases in several hotspots in the South and Southwest of the U.S. threatened to derail plans to ramp up reopenings. Still, the Nasdaq Composite hit another record high.
US After Hours DELL +17.6% and VMW +8.8% jump on WSJ report saying Dell is exploring options for its stake in VMW; AVAV +4.7% up on strong earnings

Nikkei -0.07% Hang Seng -0.30% CSI +0.33% Shanghai +0.23% Shenzen +0.06%

Eur$ 1.1317 CNH 7.0606 CNY 7.0674 JPY 106.567 GBP 1.2505 CHF 0.9440 RUB 67.7970 WTI$ 40.38 +0.02%

S&P +0.04% Nasdaq +0.26% EuroStoxx -0.64% FTSE -0.71% Dax -0.53% SMI -0.12%

Macro :
- EU May Opt to Keep Americans Out When External Borders Open
- Only Nasdaq at a Record Is Bad Sign for U.S. Stocks, BTIG Says
- Boris Johnson Gambles on Lifting Lockdown to Save U.K.’s Economy

Keep an eye on :
- AF FP : Air France Gets Union Deal for Departure of About 10% of Pilots
- ALV GY : Pimco’s Roman Sees Real GDP at 2019 Level by End of 2021 (1)
- ATL IM : Italy Nears Deal With Atlantia on Autostrade: Corriere
- ATO FP : Atos Aims for Mid-Term Revenue Growth Ex-Forex 5%-7%
- AMYT LN : Amryt Pharma Files With SEC to List ADS in U.S.
- BOOZT SS : Swedish Online Retailer Boozt Raises Outlook After Jump in Users
- CLNX SM : Benettons Said to Draw Interest for $3.9 Billion Cellnex Stake
- DAI GY : Mercedes-Benz, Nvidia to Collaborate on In-Vehicle AI Computing
- DLG Y : Dialog Semiconductor Raises 2Q Revenue Forecast
- DRX LN : Drax to Trial Carbon Capture with Biomass Power Station
- DUFN SW : Dufry Plans to Cut Personnel Expenses by 20% to 35%
- EUCAR FP : Volkswagen Is Said to Explore Offer for Europcar
- EVO SS : Evolution Gaming Offers to Buy NetEnt for About SEK19.6b
- IPH FP : Innate Pharma: FDA Lifts Partial Hold on Phase 2 Tellomak Trial
- JDW LN : JD Wetherspoon Pubs in England to Reopen on July 4
- KAMUX FH : Kamux Offering by Holder Prices 2.75m Shares at EU6.80/Share
- MMB FP : Lagardere: No Decision on Lagardere Live Entertainment Sale
- LEG GY : LEG Immobilien Convertible Bond and Share Sale Is Covered: Terms
- MITRA BB : Mithra Says Estelle NDA Accepted for FDA Review
- KN FP :
- NETB SS : Gaming Giant Evolution Offers to Buy NetEnt for $2.1 Billion
- NOKIA FH : Nokia’s Lundmark to Start as CEO One Month Earlier Than Planned
- PFC LN : Petrofac Says Trading, Awards ‘Materially Impacted’ by Covid-19
- PFD LN : Premier Foods Full Year Adj Pretax GBP93.3 Mln, Est. GBP93.3 Mln
- OLG FP : OL Groupe Lenders Pre-Approve State-Guaranteed EU92.6M Loan
- SMCP FP : SMCP Agrees State Guaranteed Loan of EU140m
- SOLB BB : Solvay Sees About EU1.5b Non-Cash Impairment Due to Covid-19
- VOW3 GY : Volkswagen Is Said to Explore Offer for Europcar
- WDI GY : Wirecard Former CEO Sells ~EU155m of Stock Due to Margin Calls
- WDI GY : Softbank Urged Former Wirecard CEO to Conduct Special Audit: HB
- WDI GY : German Regulator BaFin Suspects Wirecard of Manipulating Markets
- WDI GY : Inside Wirecard, a Deposit-Taking Bank Helped Fuel the Growth

>>> Europe : Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 24th of June 2020

>>> Up
* AMS Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan; PT 20 Swiss francs
* Boohoo Raised to Buy at Citi
* Deutsche Industrie REIT Raised to Buy at Baader Helvea
* Georg Fischer Raised to Add at Baader Helvea
* Gerresheimer PT Raised to 92 euros at Deutsche Bank
* Infineon Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan; PT 28 euros
* L'Oreal Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan; PT 310 euros
* Melexis Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan; PT 84 euros
* Kloeckner PT Raised to 7 euros at Bankhaus Metzler
* Pets at Home Raised to Buy at Citi
* Securitas Raised to Hold at Jefferies; PT 120 kronor
* Tecnoinvestimenti Raised to Neutral at Banca Akros (ESN)
* Tod's Raised to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley; PT 26.50 euros

>>> Down
* Aeroports de Paris Cut to Underperform at BofA; PT 90 euros
* Deutsche Boerse Cut to Hold at HSBC; PT 165 euros
* Dunelm Cut to Sell at Citi
* Elkem Cut to Sell at Citi
* Kingfisher Cut to Sell at Citi
* Kloeckner Cut to Sell at LBBW; PT 3.50 euros
* Lufthansa Cut to Sell at Goodbody; PT 4.20 euros
* Moncler Cut to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley; PT 37 euros
* NCC Cut to Hold at Canaccord; PT 190 pence
* Next Cut to Sell at Citi
* RELX Cut to Hold at ABN Amro Bank; PT 1,960 pence
* Schneider Electric Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank; PT 95 euros
* Serica Cut to Hold at Jefferies; PT 115 pence
* Wacker Chemie Cut to Sell at Citi

>>> Initiation
* Air France-KLM Reinstated Hold at ABN Amro Bank; PT 3.90 euros
* Aveva Resumed Buy at BofA; PT 4,850 pence
* Dassault Systemes Resumed Buy at BofA; PT 180 euros
* Evotec SE Rated New Add at Baader Helvea; PT 28 euros
* Rocket Internet Resumed Buy at BofA; PT 26 euros
* Siauliu Bankas Rated New Buy at SEB Equities; PT 65 euro cents
* Temenos Resumed Neutral at BofA; PT 148 Swiss francs

>>> Call
* Georg Fischer Upgraded at Baader on Long-Term Growth Prospects
* Morgan Stanley Remains ‘Constructive’ on Luxury, Upgrades Prada
* Securitas, G4S EPS Estimates Raised, Jefferies More Positive
* Wacker Chemie, Elkem Cut to Sell on Rising Silicone Supply: Citi

>>> Stoxx 600 Pre-Market Indications

  • Wirecard (WDI TH) +12%
  • Carnival Plc (POH1 TH) +4.3%
  • Dialog Semi (DLG TH) +4.1%
    • Dialog Semiconductor Raises 2Q Revenue Forecast
  • CNH Industrial (37C TH) +2.1%
  • Halma (H11 TH) +1.3%
  • Gerresheimer (GXI TH) +1.2%
    • Gerresheimer PT Raised to 92 euros at Deutsche Bank
  • AMS (DQW1 TH) +1.1%
    • AMS Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan; PT 20 Swiss francs
  • Rolls-Royce (RRU TH) +1.1%
  • Infineon (IFX TH) +1.1%
  • Bayer (BAYN TH) +0.8%
  • Porsche SE (PAH3 TH) -0.9%
  • Deutsche Boerse (DB1 TH) -1%
  • TUI (TUI1 TH) -1.2%
  • Shell (R6C TH) -1.2%
    • Four Years After the Referendum, Brexit Still Haunts U.K. Stocks
  • TeamViewer (1UD TH) -1.3%
  • TOMRA (TMR TH) -1.3%
  • Genmab (GE9 TH) -1.3%
  • MorphoSys (MOR TH) -1.4%
  • Unibail (1BR1 TH) -1.7%
  • Sartorius Stedim (56S1 TH) -2.6%

>>> TradeGate Pre-Market Indications

DAX:
  • Wirecard (WDI TH) +9.6%
  • Infineon (IFX TH) +1.3%
    • Infineon Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan; PT 28 euros
  • Bayer (BAYN TH) +1%
  • Deutsche Wohnen (DWNI TH) +0.7%
  • MTU Aero (MTX TH) +0.4%
  • BASF (BAS TH) -0.2%
    • Imperial College London: First Volunteer Gets Covid-19 Vaccine
  • E.On (EOAN TH) -0.4%
  • Deutsche Bank (DBK TH) -0.4%
  • Allianz (ALV TH) -0.6%
    • Roman Says Pimco to Grow Organically, Not Through M&A: TOPLive
  • VW (VOW3 TH) -0.9%
    • Volkswagen Is Said to Explore Offer for Europcar (1)
MDAX:
  • Telefonica Deutschland (O2D TH) +1%
  • HelloFresh (HFG TH) +0.9%
  • Varta (VAR1 TH) +0.7%
  • Fraport (FRA TH) +0.7%
  • Evotec SE (EVT TH) +0.6%
    • Evotec SE Rated New Add at Baader Helvea; PT 28 euros
  • K+S (SDF TH) -0.3%
  • Freenet (FNTN TH) -0.3%
  • Airbus (AIR TH) -0.4%
  • Lufthansa (LHA TH) -0.5%
    • One Man Can Save Lufthansa’s Bailout or Unleash Bedlam
    • Lufthansa Cut to Sell at Goodbody; PT 4.20 euros
  • TeamViewer (1UD TH) -0.7%
SDAX:
  • Steinhoff (SNH TH) +3.3%
  • Kloeckner (KCO TH) +1.8%
    • Kloeckner PT Raised to 7 euros at Bankhaus Metzler
  • Deutz (DEZ TH) +1.2%
  • Ceconomy (MEO TH) +1%
  • Deutsche PBB (PBB TH) +0.6%
  • Hamborner REIT (HAB TH) +0%
  • Shop Apotheke (SAE TH) -0.6%
  • Nordex (NDX1 TH) -0.6%
  • Aixtron (AIXA TH) -1.1%
  • Schaeffler (SHA TH) -1.2%

>>> US After Hours Summary: DELL +17.6% and VMW +8.8% jump on WSJ

After Hours Summary: DELL +17.6% and VMW +8.8% jump on WSJ report saying Dell is exploring options for its stake in VMW; AVAV +4.7% up on strong earnings

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: AVAV +4.7%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: DELL +17.6% (WSJ report says Dell is exploring options for its stake in VMW), KMDA +17.4% (extends late-session rally), VMW +8.8% (WSJ report says Dell is exploring options for its stake in VMW), YNDX +1.1% (co and Sberbank to reorganize two of their JVs; also files mixed securities shelf offering; also guides Q2 revs about dual estimate), CSII +0.8% (enters into a supply agreement with Abrasive Tech)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: REGI -11.7% (lowers Q2 adjusted EBITDA guidance), LZB -0.5%

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: TELA -7.7% (files for 3 mln share offering), EDIT -6.1% (announces 4 mln share offering), WMC -3.8% (will not pay a dividend in Q2), CCL -2.3% (S&P downgrades to 'BB-' From 'BBB-'), MAXR -0.3% (to take full ownership of 3D data and analytics firm Vricon)