Commonwealth Bank of Australia developed a surprise and encouraging exit strategy from its 15 year old investment in the vehicle fleet management with business, with the announcement yesterday of an agreement to sell Commonwealth Fleet Lease to SG. Fleet Services Australia, a subsidiary of Super Group, a listed South Africa leasing services company. Super Group will buy the business, through SG FleetAustralia. Super Group will own 70 per cent of Fleet Australia, while a private equity consortium, sourced through the CBA-managed Colonial First State, will own 30 per cent.Following a transition period, the business will relinquish its current name of Commonwealth Fleet Lease, and adopt a name yet to be announced.Super Group said in an announcement released via the Johannesburg Stock Exchange that FleetAustralia would pay not more than $63.25 million, of which $58.25 million will be paid on completion, with a further amount of up to $5 million after receipt of the final accounts for the fleet company from CBA.In addition FleetAustralia said it had committed $4 million in working capital, partly to fund upgrades to IT systems. Financial statements for Commonwealth Fleet Lease for the year to June 2003 show that the business reported a pre-tax profit of $12.9 million (up from $8.1 million in 2002) and a net profit of $10.1 million (up from $6.1 million).Super Group will fund the purchase with $32 million in equity and up to $31 million in debt.Of the $32 million in equity, of which 70 per cent, of $22.4 million would be paid by Super Group, and 30 per cent, or $9.6 million by the Colonial First State private equity consortium. FleetAustralia will raise the balance in debt from Australian banks, secured over the assets over the business and with no recourse to Super Group.Super Group and the private equity consortium also provided CBA with a bank guarantee of $15 million relating to Commonwealth Fleet Lease's obligations relating to residual values of vehicles leased by CBA's wholly owned subsidiary, CBFC Leasing.Super Group said that Commonwealth Fleet's funded fleet increased by an average compound rate of 14 per a year over three years, while the average compound growth rate of net profit after tax for the same period has been in excess of 20 per cent. SG estimated Commonwealth Fleet's market share at eight per cent overall, and at 20 per cent within the novated lease (or consumer lease) segment. SG said that the business increased its market share in the novated lease segment to 20.6 per cent in 2003 from 13.4 per cent in 2000.CFL currently manages 25,000 vehicles, which is budgeted to increase to 27,000 by mid 2004.