Avis Hellas in Hands of Avis Europe – Turkey’s Otokoc

Avis Hellas (aka Olympic) will pass into the ownership of Avis Europe Holdings and Turkey’s Otokoc in a 318.1 million-euro deal, after Avis Budget Group turned down the acquisition of Olympic shares, Piraeus Bank, the company’s main shareholder (94 percent) said on Tuesday.

Olympic Commercial and Tourism Enterprises (Olympic) holds the Avis Rent a Car, Budget Rent a Car and Payless master franchises for Greece.

The bank said in a statement that “Avis Budget Group, through its subsidiary Zodiac Europe Limited, exercised rights it held under the terms of the franchise agreements for its brands.

The relevant terms include, among others, Zodiac Europe Limited’s Right of First Refusal to acquire the Olympic shares either directly or through a third party nominee under the same financial and contractual terms”. Of the 318.1-million-euro deal, 80.6 million euros will be paid in cash with the remaining sum covering the company’s loan commitments.

The transaction will be completed following approval of the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF) and the competition authorities.

Piraeus Bank thanked all parties who participated in the international tender for the sale of its subsidiary.