Societe Generale is betting on the sharing economy and the shift to electric vehicles as it aims to make its vehicle-leasing subsidiary ALD a core pillar of its business, the French bank said on 6 January, setting out a merger between ALD and peer LeasePlan.

Under the agreement with LeasePlan's current owners, a consortium led by London-based TDR Capital, ALD will acquire 100% of the company in a cash-and-share deal totalling €4.9bn ($5.54bn), SocGen said.