Zipcar buys controlling stake in Spain's Avancar

Zipcar Inc. said Wednesday that it exercised its option to buy a majority ownership interest in Spanish car sharing service Catalunya Carsharing SA as part of its plan to expand into Europe.

Financial terms of the deal, which is expected to close in early 2012, were not disclosed.

The Cambridge, Mass.-based car sharing service said it expects Barcelona to be a big market for car sharing, and that the deal is a key part of the company's plan to grow its European market. Zipcar bought U.K. company Streetcar Ltd. last year.

The Spanish company, known as Avancar, operates a fleet of vehicles in Barcelona and in Sant Cugat del Valles, Spain, a town about 9 miles from Barcelona.

Zipcar initially invested in Avancar in December 2009. With the deal announced Wednesday, it will increase its stake to 60 percent of the company.

Shares fell 28 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $12.94 in morning trading. The company went public in April at $18 a share.

Zipcar was founded in 2000 but hasn't turned an annual profit yet. It has about 650,000 members in the U.S., Canada and the U.K.