Arval has announced the finalisation of its acquisition of GE Capital Fleet Services’ activities in Europe.

The deal was announced in June in line with GE’s plans to create a simpler, industrial company. It forms part of a global transaction in which Element Financial Corporation – Arval’s partner in North America – acquired GE’s US, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand fleet businesses. The US deal closed at the end of August with the acquisition of the GE businesses in Mexico, Australia and New Zealand finalised at the end of September.

Now Arval’s acquisition of GE’s European fleet operations has also been finalised after having received approvals from the European Commission and all other relevant regulatory authorities.

The Arval agreement covers more than 160,000 vehicles in 12 European countries, of which France, Germany and the UK represent over 75%; the vehicle assets amounted to €2.4bn (£1.7bn) as of Q1 2015.

Arval said the deal propels it to the number one position in Europe in the full service vehicle leasing sector, with a leased fleet of 930,000 vehicles worldwide, in 26 countries.

In addition the Element-Arval Global Alliance now becomes a global leader with a fleet of more than three million vehicles in 47 countries.

Philippe Bismut, CEO of Arval, said: “We are very happy to welcome colleagues and clients of European GE Capital fleet services. Our clients will now benefit from greater geographical coverage and we’ll be redoubling our efforts to ensure our service quality and provide them with expert advice. With the strength of BNP Paribas and the expertise of our local teams, Arval now becomes the number one full-service vehicle leasing specialist in Europe. In addition, by enhancing our cooperation with Element Financial, we’re creating a stronger, more efficient worldwide network.”

Keith Sherin, GE Capital chairman and CEO, added: “We are pleased to complete the sale of our European fleet services business to Arval. It is another important step as we continue to execute on our plan to sell most of the assets of GE Capital.

“We thank the European fleet services team for their contributions to GE Capital and to our customers, and wish them a successful future as they join Arval.”