July 21, 2021 — Following a scuttled SPAC attempt earlier this year for portfolio company Solera Holdings, Vista Equity Partners now is planning for an initial public offering later this year or early next year. The original strategy called for partnering with special purpose acquisition company Apollo Growth Strategic Capital, which had raised $817 million…
November 6, 2020 — Reynolds and Reynolds announced today Bob Brockman has stepped down as chairman and CEO. Tommy Barras is adding the CEO role to his responsibilities. He was named president and COO in early June. A new chairman has not been named according to a Reynolds spokesperson. Brockman earlier this month was indicted… Continue Reading
October 30, 2020 — Earlier this week, CDK Global and Authenticom settled their lawsuits that were part of several data access-related lawsuits that were consolidated into a multi-district litigation (MDL) in federal court in Illinois’ Northern District. From February 2017 to February 2019 as many as seven vendors and 25 dealerships filed lawsuits against either…
Updated: 5-yr growth plan and new online brand unveiled. July 22, 2020 — Lithia Motors’ share price is at its all-time high trading above $195 in early trading this morning — which is up from $62.98 on March 18. The Oregon-based dealer group reported its highest ever second-quarter net income this morning generating $3.72 per… Continue Reading
May 7, 2020 — In an internal email this morning, Cox Automotive President and CEO Sandy Schwartz announced the company is implementing a series of cost-cutting moves that include furloughing more than 12,500 employees beginning May 17 due to the financial impact created by COVID-19. The furloughs will impact about 36% of Cox Automotive’s entire… Continue Reading
May 3, 2020 — In an SEC filing late last week, CDK Global revealed the terms of the sale of its digital marketing division to Ansira Partners. As suspected, the deal was not for much money. CDK is getting a $24 million note receivable from Ansira. There was a surprise, however. CDK is getting a… Continue Reading
May 1, 2020 — SiriusXM-owned Automatic Labs announced on its website it is shutting down operations on May 28, 2020, due to COVID-19. In a statement on its website, the company says, “With fewer consumers purchasing and leasing vehicles and drivers on the road, we unfortunately do not see a path forward for our business.… Continue Reading
January 6, 2020 — DealerOn, Inc. is announcing this morning a strategic partnership with private equity firm NexPhase Capital. Brothers Ali and Amir Amirrezvani, who founded the website and digital marketing company in 2004, began talking with NexPhase in early 2019 and closed the deal in November. Over its 15 years, DealerOn has grown into… Continue Reading
January 6, 2020 — Dealer Tire announced this morning it is acquiring Dent Wizard in what is the first big M&A announcement this year. Dealer Tire, which was acquired by Bain Capital in 2018 in a deal rumored to be in the $2.5 billion range, says in a press release the acquisition of Dent Wizard… Continue Reading
New Era Taking Shape in Auto Retail Vendor M&A Activity November 1, 2019 — Pivotal. That’s probably the best word to describe vendor mergers and acquisitions and investments among automotive retail vendors in 2019. Aggressive roll-up plays, new directions, and evolving industries forming now will reshape the industry over the next five years. In TBR’s… Continue Reading