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…
September 22, 2015 — Vista Equity Partners’ pending $6.5 billion acquisition of Solera Holdings may be on hold as news leaked this week that another buyer has entered the picture creating what may be a bidding war for the service and collision repair software firm. The new potential buyer is IHS, confirming what we speculated…
September 17, 2015 — Reynolds and Reynolds announced today that its European operations has acquired Contact Advantage, a U.K.-based CRM provider with showroom, F&I and lead management solutions. The company just launched a group of several mobile applications designed to let the dealership manage the customer throughout the entire purchase process using an i-Pad. Contact Advantage… Continue Reading
September 14, 2015 — Last year, more than $30 billion in equity changed hands among automotive retail vendors in what was a record year for the industry. Already in 2015, there have been 19 acquisitions for an estimated combined $8 billion. With two more monster deals pending, the number could easily exceed $20 billion. Last… Continue Reading
August 22, 2015 — By the end of the year, it is conceivable the automotive retail industry may see at least three publicly traded vendors go private in deals ranging from $4.5 billion to $9-$10 billion. Dealertrack, CDK Global and Solera Holdings, all multi-billion dollar vendors, are either close to or are exploring sales to private…
August 20, 2015 — Dealertrack informed its employees this morning (and announced in a press release) that it is selling its suite of Inventory+ solutions (formerly AAX) to Dealersocket for $55 million in cash. The announcement likely means Cox Automotive’s pending $4 billion acquisition of Dealertrack is nearing commpletion. In-depth analysis of vendor activity in… Continue Reading
August 3, 2015 — Two weeks ago, Spireon, backed by private equity firm Bertram Capital, announced the acquisition of privately-held Inilex, a leading GPS recovery solutions provider for an undisclosed sum. The Spireon name probably isn’t familiar to many in the automotive retail space, but it will be soon as the deal could be an intriguing play with significant…