02/07/2004 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, the Commission authorised the acquisition of the Dutch vehicle leasing and fleet management company Leaseplan by Volkswagen Financial Services (VWFS), part of the Volkswagen Group, and two middle-Eastern financial investment companies, Offset and Crescent. Post-merger the combined entity will have around half of the market for fleet leasing and management services in both the Czech and Slovak republics. The Commission comments that the market is growing rapidly and the established presence of competitors such as Hertz and Business Lease, the transaction will not significantly impede competition in these countries. As far as short term car rental is concerned, there are significant established competitors, such as Hertz and Avis.