AMI Leasing acquired Biddle Co. Inc. of Philadelphia, a truck leasing and rental company with five branches in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Biddle, headquartered in Philadelphia, has branches in Warrington, PA; Trenton, NJ; Keasbey, NJ; and Farmington, NJ.
The acquisition increases the number of AMI Leasing branches to 31, and its base of clients to more than 6,000. In addition, AMI Leasing will retain most of Biddle’s 70 employees, increasing its total workforce to more than 650 employees, said AMI Leasing President Arthur Wolpert.
AMI Leasing will retain Biddle President Carl Rost as vice president of business development, District IV, which includes Biddle’s Farmington and Keasbey offices, as well as AMI Leasing offices in Newark, NJ; Newburgh, NY; and Stamford, CT. He will assist with customer integration and future business development.
Biddle was founded in 1941 by Robert Biddle. Biddle sold the company in 1983, and Rost became one of the shareholders. Rost, who became the majority shareholder in 1996, decided last year to sell the company because of favorable market conditions.
“AMI Leasing and Biddle have had a long association because of our mutual affiliation with NationaLease,” Rost said. NationaLease is a group of independent fleet management companies that offer reciprocal services to each other, enabling them to service clients nationally.
AMI Leasing is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ford Credit, with more than 18,000 vehicles nationwide.