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Tadawul-listed rental firm United International Transportation (Budget Saudi) closed its SAR 455 mn acquisition of Autoworld, it said in a filing to the exchange. The rental company has fully taken over the Khobar-based car leasing company Autoworld in a share swap that saw it grant 7 mn new shares to Autoworld’s previous owner, Sedco Holding. The transaction
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The rationale: The acquisition will help Budget Saudi consolidate its footing as market leader in the vehicle and leasing market in the Kingdom by boosting its market share to 18% from 12% currently, the company said previously. With the addition of 14k vehicles from AutoWorld, Budget Saudi’s total car leasing fleet will now grow to c.49.3k vehicles, the rental firm said, citing an unnamed third-party market report.
A merger could soon be in the works: Budget Saudi plans to merge its short-term vehicle rental unit Payless with AutoWorld to “tap into more price-conscious customers, including residents, business travelers, and leisure travelers, further diversifying and growing its customer portfolio,” it said.
The details: Budget Saudi will acquire 100% of AutoWorld by issuing 7 mn new shares to Sedco, a top Saudi family office and institutional investor, at a price of SAR 65 per share — that’s good for a total transaction value of SAR 455 mn. AutoWorld’s shares were transferred to Budget Saudi subsidiary Aljozoor Alrasekha Trucking (Rahaal) by Sedco Holding, bringing Sedco Holding’s direct and indirect ownership in Budget Saudi to 8.96%. Budget Saudi hiked its capital by 9.8% through the issuance of new shares to fund the takeover. The share swap was executed at a value of SAR 65 per share, giving the transaction a total value of SAR 455 mn.
ADVISORS- Our friends at EFG Hermes were sole financial advisor to Budget Saudi on the transaction, the investment bank said in a statement (pdf). EFG Hermes’ M&A team has also recently advised on Cenomi Retail’s sale of brands to Abdullah Al-Othaim Fashion Co. (here and here) and on MENA-based discount retailer Kazyon’s acquisition of a 50% stake in Dukan.
