Carlyle Enters Car-For-Hire Feeding Frenzy by PitchBook
European car service Addison Lee, a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group, has acquired Tristar Worldwide, a competing operator of premium car services. The deal is valued around £30 million, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal, and increases Addison Lee’s ability to present itself as a more business-focused alternative to Uber, Lyft and their ridesharing rivals.
Currently, Addison Lee boasts a fleet of 4,500 vehicles and drivers in the U.K. serving 23,000 clients, including many at Fortune 500 companies. The Tristar addition allows the company to expand its private-car business beyond British borders; according to Addison Lee, the merged business will have nearly 1,000 company-owned vehicles worldwide and will become Europe’s largest executive car service. And ridesharing competitors aren’t exactly putting a dent in Addison Lee’s business. The company’s CEO, Andy Boland, said the executive car market saw a 15% uptick in 2015 volumes.
Carlyle first invested in Addison Lee during 2013, while Octopus Ventures had backed Tristar since 2008.
