ABN AMRO Lease Holding N.V., the parent company of Atlanta-based LeasePlan USA, has announced that it will acquire Consolidated Service Corporation (CSC) of Chicago, one of the largest providers of fleet management services in the United States. The acquisition is conditional upon the clearance by the relevant legal parties. The acquisition will provide the LeasePlan Group in the United States with a combined fleet of 527,000 vehicles under management, making it the second largest fleet management company in the U.S. The combined strengths of the two companies will reinforce LeasePlan's ability to provide stronger, more consistent and cost-effective global solutions, according to David Dahm, CEO of LeasePlan USA. Globally, the LeasePlan Group is an industry leader with a total fleet of nearly 1.2 million vehicles under management. CSC is an independent full-service fleet management company. CSC offers customized packages for specific maintenance management, accident management, fleet safety, insurance service offerings and client support service offered 24-hours a day, seven days a week. The company also provides fleet management software. The company, with 380 employees, presently has almost 400,000 fleet management contracts. LeasePlan is a global provider of both fleet management and leasing services in 25 countries. The company's reach includes 19 countries in Europe, where it is the industry leader, as well as Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa, Brazil and the United States. With a staff of more than 6,700 today and more than 7,100 within the next 12 months after the integration of CSC, LeasePlan focuses on providing fleet management products and services including the use of e-business for quotation, reporting and ordering, financing, vehicle remarketing, maintenance management, outsourced administration, accident management, fuel cost management, title services, customized reporting capabilities and safety programs. The global presence of the LeasePlan Group and its broad fleet management expertise, together with the many complementary product and service offerings of CSC in the United States, will extend substantial benefits to all its customers, according to Hugo Levecke, CEO and chairman of the board of ABN AMRO Lease Holding, LeasePlan's parent company. "The recent opportunity for LeasePlan to acquire Consolidated Service Corporation offers both companies many valuable synergies, which we feel will greatly expand both our current product and service offerings and enlarge our overall expertise in the industry," Levecke said. "We are very excited and enthusiastic about integrating and capitalizing on the various skills, knowledge and cultures of these two companies." Commenting on the sale of Consolidated Service Corporation, President Ron Starr said, "We felt the time was right for our company to take steps to strengthen our position in the U.S., to complete our range of products and services and to open our doors to a group with strong international capabilities and potential." "We are delighted that the two companies have reached an agreement to join forces," Dahm. "We see this acquisition as an excellent strategic fit which will offer both companies added value in different, but complementary business areas." Adding CSC's experienced fleet management associates to the team of professionals at LeasePlan was a major advantage in the decision to partner these two long-term companies, according to Levecke. "Being a company which is driven by providing proactive and value-added services to all our customers, we understand that our people and their values are at the heart of our success. We are committed to our employees and to the employees of CSC and look forward to building a very prosperous future together," he said. Founded in 1963, LeasePlan is a wholly owned subsidiary of ABN AMRO Lease Holding, which is owned by ABN AMRO Bank.