Over-Sixt Sixt/Europcar

Sixt is the latest company to turn to private equity for help in making a big acquisition. Germany’s leading car rental operator is in talks with Apax about bidding for Europcar – a rival operator that Volkswagen is looking to divest. It looks like a cunning move – but this sort of partnership rarely succeeds. Sixt has turned to Apax out of necessity. A joint bid gets it over a big hurdle: size. With an estimated price tag of E1bn, Europcar is simply too big a mouthful for Sixt, which has an en...