CMS Hasche Sigle advises Europcar on formation of car2go Hamburg GmbH

Hamburg – CMS Hasche Sigle has advised Europcar on the car2go Hamburg GmbH project. Europcar Autovermietung GmbH and Daimler subsidiary car2go GmbH plan to commence operations with an initial fleet of 300 smart fortwo cars this spring in Hamburg. For this purpose, Europcar has established a joint operating company with Daimler, car2go Hamburg GmbH, in which Europcar holds a 75% majority stake.
A team from CMS Hasche Sigle led by M&A and tax law expert Dr Heino Büsching advised Europcar on all aspects of company formation. Competition law issues were also a key aspect of the advice, with support being provided by CMS Hasche Sigle Brussels. The European Commission approved the venture in December.

The car2go vehicles are located and reserved by mobile phone, smartphone or via the Internet, either spontaneously or in advance. Worldwide, car2go has so far only been available in two cities: in Ulm (Germany) since October 2008 and since November 2009 in the Texas capital, Austin (USA).

Europcar and CMS Hasche Sigle have a long-established, successful relationship. The car2go project is one of many in recent years in which the company has relied on CMS’s broad-based expertise. Europcar is the European market leader in passenger car and commercial vehicle rentals. The company offers its services to business and private customers throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South America and Asia. Excluding franchise partners, Europcar's 7,000 employees and fleet of more than 190,000 vehicles handled in excess of 9.5 million rentals in 2009.

Advisers CMS Hasche Sigle:

Dr Heino Büsching, M&A / Tax (Lead Partner)
Dr Torsten Sill, Commercial
Dr Jan Schepke, Corporate
Dr Katharina Haneke, Corporate
Dennis Stanek, Corporate
Dr Michael Bauer, Merger Control
Dr Björn Herbers, Merger Control
Dr Thomas de la Motte, Banking & Finance