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…
November 3, 2015 — Since the middle of 2013, the automotive retail space has been in a period of upheaval as what can only be classified as big money has entered the industry. The last 28 months have probably been the most intense period vendors have ever seen in the history of the industry…
November 2, 2015 — It’s been 10 years since the McGraw-Hill Companies acquired J.D. Power and Associates for nearly $400 million. Now, according to media reports late last week, McGraw-Hill is exploring strategic alternatives for the market research firm and could command as much as $1 billion for a sale. J.D. Power generates about $265 million in…
October 29, 2015 — The vendor acquisitions keep coming as PureCars announced earlier this week it has been acquired by Raycom Media. It’s an intriguing acquisition for Raycom, an employee-owned broadcast company that owns 51 television stations in 38 markets reaching more than 13% of U.S. TV watching homes. PureCars is a digital automotive advertising… Continue Reading
October 10, 2015 — The Banks Report has learned Reynolds and Reynolds has acquired the Assurant Specialty Property’s Title Administration Services. This latest acquisition isn’t going to generate a lot of headlines or rate high on the sexy deal meter, but it adds a critical piece to the Reynolds portfolio of services which includes document management… Continue Reading