Edenred consolidates its position on the European toll market
Edenred, the world leader in transactional solutions for companies, employees and merchants, announces that its subsidiary UTA has signed an agreement to acquire the Road Account client portfolio from AirPlus. A subsidiary of the Lufthansa group, AirPlus markets corporate toll payment solutions under the Road Account brand. The acquisition will enable UTA to expand its client base on the buoyant European toll market and creates new outlets for additional services.
The corporate toll market is growing rapidly in Europe, particularly in Germany – the continent’s largest such market – where the size of the truck toll network has more than doubled following the recent extension of tolls to all federal roads in the country. With total collected tolls of €4.8 billion in 2017, the German toll market is forecast to generate revenue of €7 billion by 2022.
The number two Europe-wide player specialized in multi-brand fuel cards, toll solutions and maintenance services, UTA generated more than 40% of its 2017 revenue through value‑added services such as tolls. The acquisition of the Road Account client portfolio will enable UTA to consolidate its position in the rapidly expanding toll market. Founded in 2007, Road Account has 2,500 direct clients (mostly located in Germany) and a large network of resellers in Eastern Europe, driving annual operating revenue to more than €4 million in 2017.
In addition to the solutions currently marketed by Road Account, the business’ clients will gain access to the full suite of integrated, Europe‑wide solutions offered by UTA for paying fuel, toll and maintenance costs through a network of nearly 60,000 acceptance points in 40 European countries.
The closing of the transaction, subject to approval by the German and Austrian competition authorities and by Lufthansa’s Corporate Bodies, is expected by the end of December. Road Account clients will be migrated to UTA during the first half of 2019. The acquisition will be accretive to Edenred net profit, Group share immediately.
“This acquisition illustrates Edenred’s ability to consolidate the still largely fragmented fleet and mobility solutions market in Europe, which offers significant growth opportunities”, said Antoine Dumurgier, Chief Operating Officer, Fleet & Mobility Solutions at Edenred.
