ARVAL’S parent company, BNP Paribas, is in the process of discussing a potential takeover of Mercedes-Benz’ leasing arm Athlon, according to a report in Bloomberg.
It follows Bloomberg’s story at the start of this year that Mercedes-Benz was gauging interest in its Athlon car leasing business.
Mercedes bought the Athlon leasing business back in 2016 and integrated it with it Daimler Fleet Management captive finance arm to give it wider exposure across more OEMs, in a similar fashion to BMW’s Alphabet.
While there’s no firm indication that a sale would go ahead, the combined Arval/Athlon leasing business would create the third largest leaseco in the FN50, allowing Arval to leapfrog Volkswagen Financial Services | Fleet based on the current FN50 figures.
Both companies have transacted before, so they are no strangers. In May 2021, Arval acquired the Athlon Switzerland fleet of 800 vehicles to consolidate its position in the country.
Mercedes is under pressure from declining sales in China, down 19% in Q2, exposure to weak RVs on electric cars, the impact of Trump tariffs on its profitability for exports to America, and the rapid rollout of Chinese OEM electric cars in Europe.
With a review of its operations under way as a result, the deal could be valued at €1 billion, the Bloomberg report said.
BNP Paribas said it expected net income in 2026 to exceed €12.2bn, following its Q2 2025 results.
Ralph Morton is the leading journalist in the leasing broker sector and editor of Broker News, the website which provides information and news for BVRLA-registered leasing brokers. He also writes extensively on the fleet and leasing market in both the UK and Europe.
