DLL Sharpens Focus on Global Vendor Finance Business

PR64988

EINDHOVEN, the Netherlands, July 1 / PRNewswire=KYODO JBN / --

     - Sale of Athlon to Daimler Financial Services Announced

    DLL, a Rabobank subsidiary and global provider of asset-based financial

solutions, has reached an agreement to sell its mobility solutions entity

Athlon Car Lease International B.V. including all its subsidiaries to

Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Nederland B.V., a part of the Daimler

Financial Services global network. A Sale and Purchase Agreement has been

signed by both parties as of June 30, 2016.

    The sale transaction is expected to be completed by the end of 2016, once

all required approvals and consents have been obtained from the necessary

regulatory authorities, and other relevant bodies.  The consideration for the

shares amounts to EUR1.1 billion. As a result of the transaction, the Rabobank

CET1 ratio is estimated to improve with approximately 40 basis-points. BofA

Merrill Lynch acted as financial advisor to Rabobank Group on this sale.

    The sale of Athlon

    A part of DLL since 2006, Athlon is an international provider of vehicle

leasing and mobility solutions, active in eleven countries throughout Europe,

and managing a fleet of more than 250,000 vehicles. Mercedes Benz Financial

Services, Nederland BV is part of Daimler Financial Services, a worldwide

provider of financial services in over 40 countries, and managing a fleet of

more than 3.7 million vehicles. The future business of the consolidated fleet

operations between Daimler Fleet Management and Athlon will operate under the

Athlon brand.

    "For over 10 years, Athlon has been an important and profitable business

line for DLL. However, as the mobility/car leasing industry continues to

evolve, it became clear that future success would be based on expanded

international coverage and a wider range of products and online propositions.  

With that in mind, we have found a shareholder in Daimler Financial Services

that possesses the aspiration and drive to fuel Athlon's future growth and

success.  This is the right step for Athlon and the right step for DLL, who can

now wholly focus all of its resources, investments and innovation toward our

core business of vendor finance, and create greater synergies with our parent,

Rabobank", said Bill Stephenson, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board of DLL.

    Frans Janssen, CEO of Athlon International adds: "Our ten years with DLL

brought tremendous growth and expansion to our brand. To get to the next level,

both parties spent significant time considering the future prospects for Athlon

and of course the best interests of our customers, suppliers and employees.  As

such, we are very satisfied about our future direction with Daimler Financial

Services.  They are a renowned international organization and clearly aiming

for growth."

    Rabobank has reaffirmed its strong commitment to DLL

    Rabobank has reaffirmed its strong commitment to their market leading

global vendor finance company DLL as an important contributor to the strategy

of Rabobank. DLL is the world's largest vendor finance company, delivering

global financial services programs and sales and marketing tools to Fortune 500

manufacturers and distribution partners in 36 countries.

    Wiebe Draijer, CEO of Rabobank commented: "DLL will continue to fulfill an

important role in our overall product portfolio and also to service key

international customers of the bank, particularly in the Food and Agricultural

sector.  They are guided by a strong leadership team and continue to be an

impressive and significant contributor to Rabobank.  We are proud of their

contributions to the Rabobank Group, and we are committed to creating further

synergies between DLL and Rabobank, particularly if this creates more value for

our customers."

    Bill Stephenson, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board of DLL, added:

"With a mandate to grow our market leading vendor finance business, we look

forward to enhancing our many long-standing relationships with top

manufacturers, distributors and dealers across all of our key industries

sectors.  Our global value proposition remains unchanged.  We will continue to

focus on the business of our partners, specializing in their markets and

helping them sell more products and services with finance and leasing.  That

has been the key to our success for over 40 years and will continue to be for

decades to come."

    Merrill Lynch International ("BofA Merrill Lynch"), a subsidiary of Bank of

America Corporation, is acting exclusively for Rabobank Group in connection

with the sale of Athlon and for no one else and will not be responsible to

anyone other than Rabobank Group for providing the protections afforded to its

clients or for providing advice in relation to the sale of Athlon.

    DLL. See what counts.

    DLL is a global provider of asset-based financial solutions in the

Agriculture, Food, Healthcare, Clean Technology, Transportation, Construction,

Industrial and Office technology industries. We collaborate with equipment

manufacturers, dealers and distributors in more than 35 countries to enable

businesses to obtain and use the assets they need to contribute meaningfully to

the world.

    Our team of 5,500 members is committed to delivering original, integrated

financial solutions that support the complete asset life cycle. Our offerings

include vendor finance,  commercial finance, life cycle asset management,

mobility solutions, consumer finance, leasing and factoring. DLL is a wholly

owned subsidiary of Rabobank Group. http://www.dllgroup.com

    Athlon - Getting you there

    Athlon is market leader in vehicle leasing in the Netherlands. What's more,

Athlon has developed innovative, sustainable and cost-efficient mobility

solutions for many years. Its mission: to supply the very best vehicle leasing

and mobility solutions to meet its customers' continuously changing needs.

Athlon is active in 11 countries. More information about Athlon can be found

on: http://www.athlon.com.

    SOURCE: DLL