Significant shift in the ride-sharing sector with a deal announced today that will see Carpooling acquired by BlaBlaCar.
The pair are talking up their respective positions in the market (second and first) as part of the deal, so if correct the acquisition to combine the two is a major piece of consolidation in the fledgeling sector.
The announcement did not come with any disclosure of a price or any terms.
Hungarian ride-sharing service Autohop has also been acquired by BlaBlaCar this week.
BlaBlaCar secured $100 million in Series C funding from Index Ventures in July last year, following a $10 million raise in early-2012.
Founded in 2006 by Frédéric Mazzella (CEO), Francis Nappez (CTO), and Nicolas Brusson (COO), BlaBlaCar currently has a presence in 18 countries including France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Ukraine and UK.
The company says both Carpooling and Autohop will be integrated into its existing service, with a bold claim to be creating "one of the largest sharing economy platforms in the world".
Carpooling was founded in 2001 and supported by car giant Daimler.
BlaBlaCar founder and CEO Frédéric Mazzella says:
"Demand for trusted ridesharing across our markets in Europe is phenomenal, and merging our community with that of carpooling.com and Autohop will create a better, more fully integrated experience for our members across Germany and Central and Eastern Europe.
"Our combined community in these markets creates a transportation alternative of real significance."
Autohop's headquarters in Budapest will become a new regional office for BlaBlaCar.
With regards to the existing Carpooling team, an official says:
"At this point, our top priority is to build the best ridesharing platform for Germany. To accomplish this goal, we need a great team.
"Therefore, we first want to get to know the entire staff of carpooling to figure out how we can build on existing expertise. We are optimistic that the entire staff shares the vision of ride-sharing as a central means of city to city travel."