Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on December 18, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
BNP Paribas is negotiating to acquire Mercedes-Benz's car-leasing unit Athlon for $1.2 billion, enhancing its European leasing market position.
By Mathieu Rosemain
PARIS, Dec 18 (Reuters) - BNP Paribas is in exclusive talks with German carmaker Mercedes-Benz to acquire its car-leasing subsidiary Athlon, the French bank said on Thursday, in a transaction valued at approximately 1 billion euros ($1.17 billion).
The acquisition would strengthen BNP's position in the European vehicle leasing market through its Arval business, adding approximately 400,000 vehicles to its fleet under full-service leasing, it said. BNP's Arval unit currently has a fleet of 1.9 million vehicles.
"This is a very important transaction, as it will enable the group to create the joint European leader in long-term car rental," BNP Chief Operating Officer Thierry Laborde said in an interview.
The addition of Athlon's fleet would push BNP Paribas' total to close to 2.3 million vehicles under full-service leasing, narrowing the gap with European market leader Ayvens, Societe Generale's listed car-leasing division, which operated a funded fleet of about 2.6 million vehicles at the end of September. Ayvens also has a further 655,000 vehicles under fleet management.
Fleet management generally refers to managing vehicles a company already owns, including services such as maintenance and repairs, while the client retains ownership and risk; under full-service leasing, the provider owns the vehicles, bundles financing and management into a fixed monthly fee, and typically resells the vehicles at the end of the contract.
Mercedes-Benz is using proceeds from various divestments to invest in its core business. For BNP, the euro zone's biggest bank by assets, the acquisition aligns with its ambitions to expand in the vehicle leasing sector.
The integration would deliver cost savings and provide a return on invested capital of 18%, the French lender said. The transaction would contribute close to 200 million euros to the group's net income per share by the third year after completion.
BNP said the deal would have a limited impact on its capital position, with the expected Common Equity Tier 1 ratio impact of approximately 13 basis points already factored into the group's capital trajectory of 13% by end 2027.
Laborde said the group expects to sign a sale and purchase agreement between February and March next year, with the deal likely to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.
($1 = 0.8512 euros)
(Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain. Editing by Anousha Sakoui and Nia Williams)
Vehicle leasing is a long-term rental agreement where a customer pays to use a vehicle for a specified period without owning it. At the end of the lease, the vehicle is returned to the leasing company.
Full-service leasing includes vehicle financing, maintenance, and insurance bundled into a single monthly payment. The leasing company retains ownership of the vehicle throughout the lease term.
The Common Equity Tier 1 ratio is a measure of a bank's financial strength, calculated by dividing its core equity capital by its total risk-weighted assets.
Net income per share is a financial metric that indicates the amount of profit attributable to each outstanding share of common stock, calculated by dividing net income by the number of shares.
Fleet management involves overseeing a company's vehicle fleet, including maintenance, tracking, and financing, to ensure efficient operation and cost control.
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