February 14, 2018 — Cars.com announced this morning it is acquiring the Chicago-based automotive retail technology firm Dealer Inspire and its digital advertising agency Launch Digital Marketing (LDM). The acquisition, which is expected to close this month, is the first for Cars.com since it became a stand-alone company after completing its public spinoff from media…
February 6, 2018 — The hot rumor late Friday afternoon has the Carlyle Group and Silver Lake closing in on an acquisition of CDK Global. Company shares jumped in after hours trading Friday night on the news from $66 to $73 so the rumors likely have some teeth. It is possible a deal might not… Continue Reading
Februrary 9, 2018 — Welcome to our fourth annual TBR Automotive Retail Vendor M&A Report. Our M&A reports on vendor acquisition and investment activity are published quarterly along with an annual year-end report. The reports provide insight and analysis of each acquisition, investment and IPO from the previous year including an outlook for the upcoming…
February 5, 2018 — One of the splashier stories coming out of this year’s Detroit Auto Show is the prospect of the Guangzhou Automotive Co. Group (GAC) entering the U.S. market sometime in late 2019. And in a few weeks, representatives from GAC Motor will be in Las Vegas at the National Automobile Dealers Assn.… Continue Reading
January 25, 2018 — The Banks Report research has found 21 companies that offer some type of online vehicle transaction solution. In the last four years, companies offering such solutions have exploded onto the scene attracting more than $1 billion in investment money — more than $200 million since July (Not including Fair’s $1 billion… Continue Reading
January 24, 2018 — Over the last several months, numerous automakers and dealers have launched flexible ownership models creating a new means of interacting with customers beyond the typical loan or lease. The question is whether flexible ownership and vehicle subscriptions will move beyond being a novel and cool idea to becoming an accepted method of…
January 15, 2018 — For the second time in the last week, CDK Global shares have spiked to record highs due to rumors of a potential sale. Fueling the most recent spike was chatter last week (later confirmed to TBR by sources familiar with the process) that at least three groups are submitting second round…
January 8, 2018 — As 2017 came to a close, two seemingly innocuous announcements hint at the pending impact LiDAR technology may have on automotive retail in the near future. First was AutoNation’s agreement with Waymo to provide maintenance and repair services to its fleet of self driving vehcles. And second was an under-the-radar press release…
January 8, 2018 — Eight of the 10 antitrust-related lawsuits filed against Reynolds and Reynolds and/or CDK Global in 2017 may be headed to multi-district litigation (MDL) this year. The cases include five dealer class action lawsuits that were filed the final two months of 2017 and three of the five third-party vendor lawsuits that…
December 11, 2017 — This afternoon, Cox Automotive and several of its subsidiaries filed a $200 million lawsuit against CDK Global alleging ongoing antitrust and unlawful competition. The suit is the latest in a series of legal actions taken against CDK and Reynolds and Reynolds since February this year by competitors and dealers complaining about… Continue Reading