- On January 12th, RCI Bank and Services acquired a majority holding in Flit Technologies Ltd, the company that won the takeover bid for the start-up, Karhoo. Karhoo is the leading deal-comparison platform for taxi companies. As part of the liquidation process, a new company, Flit Technologies Ltd, was created and acquired the assets of Karhoo.
- Through the acquisition, RCI Bank and Services accesses a benchmark technological platform that it will be able to use as part of its activities for the brands of the Alliance.
- The partnership is part of the development and innovation strategy of RCI Bank and Services. It underscores the company’s determination to design simple and attractive solutions that enable everyone to enjoy the benefits of automobility.
- The Board of Directors will be chaired by Alice Altemaire, Vice-President, Accounting and Performance Control and a member of the RCI Bank and Services Executive Committee. The first Board meeting will be held in February.
Commenting, Gianluca De Ficchy, Chief Executive Officer of RCI Bank and Services, said: In 2016 we formed a range of partnerships to support our development strategy on automobility services and solutions for our customers. The acquisition of the start-up Karhoo appeared as a sudden opportunity that we did not want to miss and the acquisition was completed rapidly. We have met the highly-motivated teams, and I have every confidence in Karhoo’s business model; it is innovative and underpinned by a first-class technological platform. We will also be able to capitalize on this platform as part of our activities for the Alliance brands.
About RCI Banque SA:
Created and wholly owned by groupe Renault, RCI Banque is a French bank specializing in automotive financing and services for groupe Renault customers and dealer networks (Renault, Renault Samsung Motors and Dacia) throughout the world and the Nissan group (Nissan, Infiniti and Datsun) mainly in Europe, Russia, South America, Korea and India. RCI Bank and Services is the commercial identity of RCI Banque since February 2016.
With over 3,000 employees in 36 countries, RCI Bank and Services financed over 1.3 million contracts (new and used vehicles) in 2015 and sold more than 2.9 million services. Average loans outstanding stood at €28.6 billion of funding at end-December 2015 and earnings before tax at €844 million at end-December 2015 and €431 million at end-June 2016. Since 2012, RCI Bank and Services has rolled out a deposits collection business in four countries. At end-June 2016, net deposits collected stood at €11.8 billion, or 34% of the company’s outstandings.
Find out more about RCI Banque at www.rcibs.com
