June 3, 2016 — Internet Brands, owned by private equity firm KKR, acquired Auto Credit Express earlier this week. With the acquisition, Internet Brands creates an expanded presence into the subprime vehicle loan market. Auto Credit Express, founded in 1999, matches subprime customers with financing lenders and dealers. It also provides training for dealers selling to subprime… Continue Reading
May 30, 2016 — UPDATED — A swift kick in the butt from an activist investor followed by a company-wide restructuring has CDK Global’s stock price climbing while possibly signaling the technology firm could be sold within the next several months. This report analyzes the opportunities and challenges presented by the new restructuring and what it…
April 5, 2016 — Despite a relatively quiet first quarter, the hot merger and acquisition pace among automotive retail vendors the last couple of years should continue well into 2016. From January 2014 to December 2015, the industry saw 47 IPOs, acquisitions and investments totaling an estimated $37 billion in capital changing hands. (Read TBR’s recap…
March 28, 2016 — When Chip Perry took the helm at TrueCar last December, his mission was clear — create a more dealer-friendly company while regaining the trust of investors. The first part of the mission is well on its way as the company announced last night the launch of a revamped business model designed… Continue Reading
March 4, 2016 — After several weeks of uncertainty created by a tanking junk bond market, Vista Equity Partners completed its acquisition of Solera Holdings, a global firm that provides risk and asset management software for the automotive industry. Vista led an investment group comprised of Koch Equity Development and Goldman Sachs in the approximately $6.5… Continue Reading
March 3, 2016 — Cox Automotive made a series of executive changes this week as part of the continued integration resulting from last year’s $4 billion purchase of DealerTrack. The Atlanta-based firm also extended its global reach with the purchase of Dealer Solutions, a technology firm in Australia, in a move that could herald further acquisition activity in the area.… Continue Reading
February 25, 2016 — CDK Global made it official yesterday announcing it has acquired the product portfolios of NewCar IQ and Red Bumper from Pearl Technology Holdings LLC. NewCar IQ is a new vehicle inventory management system while Red Bumper helps dealers manage their used vehicle inventories. CDK will combine the two products to create a solution…
February 23, 2016 — Reynolds and Reynolds will announce today that it has acquired ReverseRisk, a web-based analytics reporting platform for automotive dealers. It will become part of Reynold’s Retail Management System. Additionally, NCM Associates’s agreement to resell the platform under the NCM axcessa name will continue following the acquisition. David Spisak, co-founder and president of… Continue Reading
January 14, 2016 — Vendor acquisition activity in 2015 was brisk with 30 transactions getting across the finish line. But even though the number of acquisitions doubled what the industry saw in 2014, the total dollar figure was significantly less in 2015. More than $30 billion in equity changed hands in 2014 as several deals…
November 30, 2015 — The Banks Report has learned that private investment firm HGGC has just completed an acquisition of a third company in the automotive retail industry. The announcement should come in the next couple of days. HGGC, owned by Steve Young, a former NFL quarterback who was elected to the Hall of Fame, currently manages…
