SG Fleet, ORIX, Sumitomo raise bids for Australia's FleetPartners

Sept 14 : Australia's FleetPartners said on Monday it had received revised offers from SG Fleet, Japan's ORIX and a consortium led by Sumitomo Corp, valuing the vehicle leasing firm at up to A$982.1 million ($702.2 million).

FleetPartners' stock jumped more than 12 per cent to a record high of A$4.64, as of 0319 GMT. 

SG Fleet has increased its offer to A$4.55 per share, while ORIX and Sumitomo have raised their individual offers to A$4.65 apiece. 

The new offers represent a premium of 10.2 per cent and 12.6 per cent to FleetPartners' last close on Friday.

The sweetened offers value the company at between A$960.9 million and A$982.1 million, topping SG Fleet's previous leading bid of A$844.8 million.

The rival bids highlight the appeal of FleetPartners' fast-growing novated leasing business, which lets employees pay for cars through their salaries. The unit contributed nearly a fifth of operating earnings in fiscal 2025 and has benefited from tax incentives for eligible electric vehicles.

The board has decided to grant each of SG Fleet, ORIX and the Sumitomo Consortium access to a further phase of due diligence, the firm added. 

The vehicle leasing firm reiterated that no revised offer would be binding or lead to a transaction.

FleetPartners added that Canada's Element Fleet has dropped out of the race after opting not to submit a revised proposal.

Element was the second party to join the race, tabling an A$3.80 per share proposal in August to outbid SG Fleet's first offer of A$3.60 apiece.