The Taylor Family of St. Louis, which owns National Car Rental, has purchased Murdoch Group, Inc. Headquartered in Ontario, privately held Murdoch Group was the largest single Canadian licensee of the National brand in terms of revenue and fleet size.
Murdoch Group operates at 21 sites, including 15 neighborhood branch offices and six locations at the Earlton, North Bay, Sudbury, Pembroke, Timmins and Barrie airports. It is headquartered at 22 Government Road in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, and operates a staff of approximately 180 employees throughout Ontario.
The acquisition closed June 18. Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Robert Murdoch will serve as General Manager at the Kirkland Lake location, and Dave Murdoch and Allison Knight also will continue in their roles in rental operations and information technology to help oversee the transition.
“We are very excited to welcome the Murdoch Group employees and customers to our network of corporate-owned stores in Canada,” said Greg Stubblefield, president of National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car. “We all share a great passion for our customers and employees, and we are proud to help carry on the Murdoch family’s tradition of quality service throughout Ontario.”
Robert Murdoch added: “My grandfather, Mel Murdoch, founded this company more than 40 years ago as part of a Canadian franchise network. So it’s very fitting that the Murdoch family is now joining together with another long-standing, family-owned-and-operated car rental company.”
Murdoch Group is the twenty-first licensee to be purchased since the Taylor family’s acquisition of the National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car businesses on Aug. 1, 2007. The Taylors have owned Enterprise Rent-A-Car, North America’s largest car rental company, since 1957.
“I want to thank the Murdoch family, their vendors and all of their longtime customers for creating a lasting legacy that will help shape the future of our growing business as well as the entire Canadian car rental industry,” explained Stubblefield. “This acquisition means the Murdoch tradition will continue with even greater opportunities for our employees, customers and brands."
