October 9, 2015 — Sergio Marchionne, showing confidence in Ferrari, decides to move forward with a planned IPO of the luxury brand despite a volatile stock market that has forced numerous companies to recently postpone going public. Ferrari N.V. filed amended IPO papers this morning with the Securities Exchange Commission expecting to generate anywhere from $48… Continue Reading
October 8, 2015 — The United Auto Workers Union reached a second tentative agreement with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles late last night minutes after a midnight strike deadline had passed. Not much yet is known about the terms of the new deal that still has be voted on by FCA’s 40,000 factory employees but UAW head… Continue Reading
October 7, 2015 — Management changes at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles happen so often, they normally amount to nothing more than press release fodder. But three changes that were announced this week might provide a hint as to which executives are moving up the ladder and possibly be in the running for the top job when Sergio… Continue Reading
October 2, 2015 — No, it’s not 2002, but it’s understandable if you were somewhat confused or experienced feelings of deja vu if you saw the news that Autobytel acquired AutoWeb yesterday. For those of you who were around in 2002, you’re right if you remembered Autobytel acquired a another company also named AutoWeb back then.… Continue Reading
October 1, 2015 — United Auto Worker leaders flew into Detroit this morning to discuss options following the union’s rejection of the proposed new labor contract with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. The rejection heightens the possibility that the UAW will strike within the next few days. Leaders are still meeting in Warren, MI this evening. Basically, the… Continue Reading
October 1, 2015 — After four extensions and other delays resulting from stipulations from the Department of Justice, Cox Automotive completed the $4 billion acquisition of Dealertrack this morning. Cox is paying $63.25 per share of Dealertrack common stock which ceases trading today on the NASDAQ Global Market. It is the biggest vendor acquisition in the… Continue Reading
September 30, 2015 — The Department of Justice yesterday approved Cox Automotive’s acquisition of Dealertrack provided Dealertrack completes the sale of its Inventory+ solution. The DOJ is requiring the divestiture of Inventory+ because it believes allowing Cox to own both vAuto and Inventory+ would provide Cox with too much of that market , and hence, limit… Continue Reading
September 29, 2015 — The Solera saga takes an interesting turn today as IHS used its quarterly earnings call with analysts to deny media reports that is pursuing an acquisition of Solera. We speculated a couple of weeks ago that Solera would be a good fit for IHS. Both Reuters and Bloomberg reported last week that…
September 24, 2015 — Despite four extensions of Cox Automotive’s all cash tender offer for Dealertrack, the companies announced today that the deal is now expected to close in October. Executives originally projected the $4.2 billion acquisition would close by the end of the third quarter, but a sale of Dealertrack’s Inventory+ to Dealersocket last month… Continue Reading
September 24, 2015 — Word on the street is that Internet Brands, owned by private equity firm KKR, has acquired a video marketing firm in the automotive retail space. The company has been on a buying spree since it was acquired by KKR in mid-2014 for $1.1 billion and has been building out its automotive…