Private company

Donlen Corporation

Donlen LLC was an American fleet leasing and management company headquartered in Bannockburn, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.1

Last updated Oct 18, 2026.

Overview

1965Founded1

See how the biggest companies compare on our leaderboards

Donlen LLC was an American fleet leasing and management company headquartered in Bannockburn, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. The company provided consultation, maintenance, and outsourcing services for corporate vehicle fleets. In 2021, Donlen was acquired by Athene Holding Ltd. In 2023, Donlen LLC, Wheels Inc. and LeasePlan USA merged under the name Wheels. The consolidated organization became one of the largest fleet management companies in North America, managing over 900,000 vehicles and serving clients in 58 countries through its Ayvens alliance.2

How it started

History

Donlen Corporation was founded in 1965 by Donald Rappeport and Leonard Vine. In September 2011 the company was acquired by Hertz Global Holdings, Inc for $250 million in cash and the assumption of $770 million in Donlen fleet debt and operated as a subsidiary of the Hertz Corporation. On March 30, 2021, Hertz completed a sale of the business to Athene Holding.

In December 2022, Donlen, Wheels, and LeasePlan USA combined under Athene to create one of the largest fleet management businesses in North America. On February 28, 2023, the combined entity officially began operating as Wheels. As part of this rebranding, the Donlen website now redirects to wheels.com, reflecting the integrated operations and unified brand.

From Wikipedia’s article on Donlen Corporation, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2

Timeline

  1. 1965Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

  1. 1
  2. 2