Rodobens begins working with operating leasing and gets ready for new IPO
Gazeta Mercantil - 06/16/2008
Empresas Rodobens, which gathers businesses that employ 5.5 thousand people and should have profits of nearly R$ 5.5 billion (US$ 3.4 billion) this year, is adding another branch to its automotive services portfolio, Leasing Operacional Rodobens, initially intended for cars, but that may, in time, be extended to commercial vehicles. The decision was announced to Gazeta Mercantil by the President of Empresas Rodobens, Waldemar Verdi Júnior. This type of lease changes dramatically the concept of ownership of the property that is deep-rooted in Brazil. "In the operating lease you pay for the use, for the rent, not for the property, although the contracting party has the right to property if it wishes to pay off the residual value", says Edgard Valesin, director of Banco Rodobens. According to Verdi Júnior, the value of the rent in the operating lease falls at least 40% compared to a conventional financing. The purpose of the group, with this type of lease, is to negotiate nearly 3.6 thousand cars until December. The goal is to achieve a portfolio of 10 thousand cars up to 2011, which means a growth of 30% a year. According to him, in the beginning Rodobens' operating lease will work with three brands of cars: Volkswagen, Toyota and General Motors. The figures of Empresas Rodobens are hefty. Through its Mercedes trucks dealerships, in a total of 35, flow 16% of the sales of the leader of the sector. The eight Toyota cars dealerships sell 10% of the Japanese maker in Brazil. "That not to count the motorcycles, imported cars and the purchasing consortium of Mercedes trucks, which, besides our dealerships, are sold by a network of 195 partner dealerships". In the edge of completing 60 years since the seed that originated the Empresas Rodobens was planted in 1949, the group gets ready for taking another step in the plan of perpetuating the business born in São José o Rio Preto (SP) of a Studebaker dealership. "We have two focos in the group, the real estate and the automotive sector. One of the ways to continue with the business is to go public. It provides transparency, results in the allocation of resources for expansion, and prevents family disputes... ",says Verdi Júnior. That's the reason why after the real estate sector of the group went public last year, Empresas Rodobens is preparing the IPO of the car sector for 2009.