Internet Brands, the parent company to CarsDirect.com and AutoData Solutions, was acquired today by the private equity group KKR for $1.1 billion. JMI Equity and Hellman & Friedman have owned Internet Brands since 2010 when they paid $640 million to take the company private. CEO Bob Brisco, who has run the company since the fall…
The story regarding DealerSocket and Vista Equity Partners’ investment in the CRM firm is a bit clearer today but still raises several questions. TBR first broke the story while at the Digital Dealer conference in Atlantic City on May 6th on Twitter reporting that Vista Equity had acquired a majority interest in DealerSocket. A private…
January 27, 2014 — Compliance officer sounds so Big Brother-ish or something that dates back to the Soviet era, but it’s quickly becoming a must-have for car dealers – and perhaps even the advertising agencies that service dealers. Here’s why: the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the attorneys general from numerous… Continue Reading
December 2, 2013 — There was a time a few years ago, I thought Autobytel was a dead company. Its stock was trading under $1 (at one time it had traded above $200 a share); it was in danger of being delisted and then had to fend off a hostile takeover attempt by Trilogy in…
September 4, 2013 — We’re still working on the details but we do know in August TrueCar filed a lawsuit against the SonicAutomotive Group alleging trademark infringement. Sonic has been implementing a one-price, no haggle program for all of its stores. Earlier this year, Sonic came up with True Price as the name for the… Continue Reading