The Avis Budget Group said on Wednesday that it had agreed to acquire the car-sharing pioneer Zipcar for $500 million in cash.
Avis's offer of $12.25 a share represents a premium of 49 percent over Zipcar's closing stock price of $8.24 at the end of 2012. The company, based in Cambridge, Mass., rents vehicles by the hour or the day, and it went public in April 2011 at $18 a share.
“We see car sharing as highly complementary to traditional car rental, with rapid growth potential and representing a scalable opportunity for us as a combined company,†Ronald L. Nelson, Avis's chief executive, said in a statement.
Founded in 2000, Zipcar says it has more than 760,000 members - known as Zipsters. It is in 20 metropolitan areas in the United States, Canada and Europe, as well as located near many colle ge campuses. For its third quarter, the company reported a 15 percent gain in revenue from the year-ago period, to $78 million. The company had earlier forecast that it expected to end its year with a profit of as much as $4 million.
Avis said it expected to reap significant cost reductions in acquiring Zipcar, including savings on its fleet. It also said that Avis's fleet could meet more of Zipcar's heavy weekend demand.
Citigroup and the law firm Kirkland & Ellis is advising Avis Budget. Morgan Stanley and the law firm Latham & Watkins advising Zipcar.
