Autobytel Forms Partnership in Europe

Irvine-based Autobytel.com Inc. on Wednesday said it expanded its European operations, signing three partners with combined investments of $27 million to create a separate company to be based in Amsterdam.

The creation of Autobytel.Europe gives the online automotive commerce firm a platform to expand its international operations and includes partnerships with firms with strengths in vehicle distribution in Europe.

The company will launch Web sites for France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg sometime this year, although company officials declined to be specific.

Autobytel will own 83.9% of the venture, invest $5 million and grant a perpetual license for its online services technology. Inchcape PLC of London will invest $10 million for a 7.3% stake, while Pon Holdings B.V. of Holland will put in $2 million for a 1.5% equity interest. Princeton, N.J.-based GE Equity will also be an investor.

Last year, Autobytel began operations in Sweden and the United Kingdom, and it is likely that those operations will eventually be folded into Autobytel.Europe, company officials said.

Autobytel Chairman Mark Lorimer will serve as chairman of the new company, but a chief executive and a chief operating officer will be named.

In the three largest European markets of France, Germany and the United Kingdom, more than 26 million cars are sold annually, Autobytel said. That’s about half as many as are sold in the United States, according to Deutsche Bank Alexander Brown. Autobytel also operates in Canada and Japan.

Autobytel shares closed unchanged at $16.25 in Nasdaq trading. The company went public last March at $23 a share.