January 26, 2023 — M&A activity in the auto retail vendor space continues its brisk pace at the beginning of 2023 with Vehlo’s announcement this week that it has acquired Velocity Automotive from Hugh Hathcock and Rapid Recon from Dennis McGinn. Both deals were completed late in the fourth quarter, but announced only this week.…
January 10, 2023 — Acquisition activity in the automotive retail vendor space is off to a brisk start in 2023. Following last week’s announcement that APCO Holdings had acquired National Auto Care, J.D. Power announced this morning it has acquired ZappyRide, to bolster its new E-Vision initiative created to provide software and data to greentech… Continue Reading
October 11, 2022 — Last week, after 16 years at the helm of the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers (NAMAD), Damon Lester retired, handing the reins to Hugene T. Fields. In July 2008, I wrote a cover story for Ward’s Dealer Business magazine (Now WardsAuto) about Lester’s efforts at shoring up the association’s declining membership.… Continue Reading
September 5, 2022 – General Motors’ strategy to buy out Buick dealers not wanting to transition to an all-electric future is good news for the brand and its dealers. The automaker introduced its plans to Buick dealers on Friday (kudos to Mike Colias of the Wall Street Journal for breaking the news). The move follows Buick’s announcement… Continue Reading
August 23, 2022 — President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law a week ago. The new law enacts several changes to the tax credit available for new electric vehicles. As we noted prior to the law’s signing, many of the changes are confusing and needed clarification from the government. In the last week,… Continue Reading
August 10, 2022 — The Inflation Reduction Bill is not yet law, but it may be as soon as this weekend. The impact on dealers will be immediate. Members of the House of Representatives are slated to return to the chamber on Friday to vote on the version the Senate passed 51-50 on Sunday. The… Continue Reading
August 10, 2022 — The Inflation Reduction Act is not yet law, but it may be as soon as this weekend. The impact on dealers will be immediate. Members of the House of Representatives are slated to return to the chamber on Friday to vote on the version the Senate passed 51-50 on Sunday. The…
August 2, 2022 — Canada’s TD Bank Group (Toronto Dominion) confirmed this morning the month-long speculation that it will acquire U.S.-based investment bank Cowen Inc. The deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023, is for $39 a share — a 62% premium more than what it was trading for in… Continue Reading
July 25, 2022 — AutoWeb, formerly known as Autobytel, announced this morning that a subsidiary of One Planet Group is acquiring it for $0.39 a share. The transaction, valued at nearly $5.5 million, is expected to close in September this year. Payam Zamani, founder and CEO of One Planet, will replace Jared Rowe as CEO… Continue Reading
July 12, 2022 — After a three and half year hiatus, Brian MacDonald is returning to CDK Global in his former role as CEO. He replaces Brian Krzanich who replaced him in November 2018. CDK is expected to make the announcement this morning. The move follows last week’s $8.7 billion sale to investment firm Brookfield… Continue Reading