APCOA Parking
Encyclopedia
APCOA Parking AG is Europe
's longest-established full service parking management company, managing over 860,000 parking spaces, across 15 countries and with around 4,500 employees. It is headquartered at Stuttgart Airport
in Germany
.
by Howard Metzenbaum
and Ted Bonda
in 1949. The company would be acquired and would become a division of the ITT Corporation
of New York
, USA
in 1966.
In 1970, APCOA Autoparking GmbH was founded in Stuttgart
, under the German wing of ITT, called SEL. The company then expanded quickly across Europe, entering:
By the mid-1980s, most of the European in-country companies had been divested from ITT, and slowly over the next ten years the management of APCOA Autoparking GmbH began to re-integrate the group under common ownership. The US operations of APCOA were purchased from ITT Corporation
through a management buyout in 1975 and ultimately merged with Standard Parking
in 1998.
In 1991, venture capital
company CWB Capital Partners of London
financed a management buyout
. The company changed its name to APCOA Holding AG in 1994, and in 1995 changes its name to APCOA Parking AG and floats on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
, with 75% of shares held by UK registered investors. The company now embarks on a period of acquisition, expanding to include locations including: Karlsruhe
; Warsaw
, Poland
; Antwerp, Belgium
; and in 1999 Europark in Norway
, Sweden
and Denmark
, a band which APCOA often uses as an alternate to its main brand.
In 1999, Salamander AG of Kornwestheim
acquired 27.1% of APCOA Parking AG shares in April, and took complete control from October. The company continued to expand through acquisition, including: the parking subsidiary of UK based First Group. In 2002 EnBW-AG of Karlsruhe
buys 98.7% of Salamander AG, to virtually control APCOA Parking AG.
After consolidating various partnerships to 100% ownership, the company continues its development path by expanding into Eastern Europe
, entering Rijeka
, Croatia
in 2003. The company was delisted from the Frankfurst Stock Exchange in 2003.
acquired 98.3% of APCOA Parking AG shares from EnBW AG, through its vehicle Parking Holdings GmbH for €
265 million including debt. In 2005 the company entered Switzerland
, and changed the name of Parking Holdings GmbH to APCOA Parking Holdings GmbH (APHG). The company has since entered the Finnish
market. APCOA is presently the market leading provider of car parking (by number of spaces managed) in six European countries:
After a bidding battle with National Car Parks
owned by 3i, and Australia
's Macquarie Bank; on 19 February 2007 French
based investment company Eurazeo
announced the proposed purchase of APCOA Parking AG for €
885 million from Investcorp.
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
's longest-established full service parking management company, managing over 860,000 parking spaces, across 15 countries and with around 4,500 employees. It is headquartered at Stuttgart Airport
Stuttgart Airport
Stuttgart Airport is an international airport located approximately south of Stuttgart, Germany....
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
History
APCOA was founded as the Airport Parking Company Of America, Inc in Cleveland, OhioOhio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
by Howard Metzenbaum
Howard Metzenbaum
Howard Morton Metzenbaum was an American politician who served for almost 20 years as a Democratic member of the U.S. Senate from Ohio . He also served in the Ohio House of Representatives and Senate from 1943 to 1951.-Early life:Metzenbaum was born in Cleveland, to a poor Jewish family, the son...
and Ted Bonda
Ted Bonda
Alva T. "Ted" Bonda was the president of the Cleveland Indians from 1973 to 1978. He was a partner in Nick Mileti's ownership group who assumed control of the team in 1973, though Mileti wasn't completely bought out until 1975...
in 1949. The company would be acquired and would become a division of the ITT Corporation
ITT Corporation
ITT Corporation is a global diversified manufacturing company based in the United States. ITT participates in global markets including water and fluids management, defense and security, and motion and flow control...
of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1966.
In 1970, APCOA Autoparking GmbH was founded in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, under the German wing of ITT, called SEL. The company then expanded quickly across Europe, entering:
- 1970 - ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... - 1981 - Sunbury on Thames, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Latterly won the first open local authority tender for on-street enforcement services in the City of WestminsterCity of WestminsterThe City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...
, and provide the UK's first "whole of borough" parking solution to Southwark Council from car park to local street. - 1985 - Mantova, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
- 1989 - RotterdamRotterdamRotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
, Holland
By the mid-1980s, most of the European in-country companies had been divested from ITT, and slowly over the next ten years the management of APCOA Autoparking GmbH began to re-integrate the group under common ownership. The US operations of APCOA were purchased from ITT Corporation
ITT Corporation
ITT Corporation is a global diversified manufacturing company based in the United States. ITT participates in global markets including water and fluids management, defense and security, and motion and flow control...
through a management buyout in 1975 and ultimately merged with Standard Parking
Standard Parking
Standard Parking Corporation is a leading national provider of parking facility management services, providing on-site services at multi-level and surface parking facilities for all major markets of the parking industry...
in 1998.
In 1991, venture capital
Venture capital
Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
company CWB Capital Partners of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
financed a management buyout
Management buyout
A management buyout is a form of acquisition where a company's existing managers acquire a large part or all of the company.- Overview :Management buyouts are similar in all major legal aspects to any other acquisition of a company...
. The company changed its name to APCOA Holding AG in 1994, and in 1995 changes its name to APCOA Parking AG and floats on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
Frankfurt Stock Exchange
The Frankfurt Stock Exchange is the world's 12th largest stock exchange by market capitalization. Located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange is owned and operated by Deutsche Börse, which also owns the European futures exchange Eurex and the clearing company...
, with 75% of shares held by UK registered investors. The company now embarks on a period of acquisition, expanding to include locations including: Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
; Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
; Antwerp, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
; and in 1999 Europark in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, a band which APCOA often uses as an alternate to its main brand.
In 1999, Salamander AG of Kornwestheim
Kornwestheim
Kornwestheim is a town in the district of Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated about 10 km north of Stuttgart, and 5 km south of Ludwigsburg.-Entertainment:...
acquired 27.1% of APCOA Parking AG shares in April, and took complete control from October. The company continued to expand through acquisition, including: the parking subsidiary of UK based First Group. In 2002 EnBW-AG of Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
buys 98.7% of Salamander AG, to virtually control APCOA Parking AG.
After consolidating various partnerships to 100% ownership, the company continues its development path by expanding into Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
, entering Rijeka
Rijeka
Rijeka is the principal seaport and the third largest city in Croatia . It is located on Kvarner Bay, an inlet of the Adriatic Sea and has a population of 128,735 inhabitants...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
in 2003. The company was delisted from the Frankfurst Stock Exchange in 2003.
Current operations
On 30 June 2004 InvestcorpInvestcorp
Investcorp is a manager of alternative investment products, serving high-net-worth private and institutional clients. Its principal client base is in the six countries of the Gulf Co-operation Council, but it also has institutional clients in North America and Europe...
acquired 98.3% of APCOA Parking AG shares from EnBW AG, through its vehicle Parking Holdings GmbH for €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
265 million including debt. In 2005 the company entered Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, and changed the name of Parking Holdings GmbH to APCOA Parking Holdings GmbH (APHG). The company has since entered the Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
market. APCOA is presently the market leading provider of car parking (by number of spaces managed) in six European countries:
- Germany (225,000)
- Norway (96,900)
- Denmark (61,900)
- Austria (48,100)
- Italy (42,400)
- Poland (12,600)
After a bidding battle with National Car Parks
National Car Parks
National Car Parks is the United Kingdom’s largest private car park operator, with over 200,000 spaces across more than 700 locations in towns and cities, railway stations and at airports....
owned by 3i, and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's Macquarie Bank; on 19 February 2007 French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
based investment company Eurazeo
Eurazeo
Eurazeo is a French investment company, formed in the merger of Eurafrance and Azeo. Its headquarters are in the 8th arrondissement of Paris.The firm's strategy is to focus on growing companies operating in various markets, with a path to eventually become the chief shareholder of, or at least a...
announced the proposed purchase of APCOA Parking AG for €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
885 million from Investcorp.