September 8, 2023 — Asbury Automotive is acquiring the Jim Koons automotive dealership group for $1.2 billion. The transaction is expected to close late this year or in early 2024. (Read TBR’s analysis of the deal and the pricing – written September 7th). The deal, which will be the third largest in history, includes $740… Continue Reading
September 7, 2023 — This week, the Asbury Automotive Group filed an 8-K with the SEC, alerting the market it is talking to the Jim Koons Automotive Companies about purchasing its 21 dealerships. (UPDATE: Asbury announced it is acquiring Koons — Read more Here.) The filing most likely was precipitated by the news leaking out… Continue Reading
(Photo: Bernardo Rodriguez, J.D. Power CTO & CDO) August 27, 2023 –Palantir Technologies is not a well-known name in the automotive retail space. But that may soon change as it expands from an intelligence and defense-focused software firm to one of the leading AI providers in the commercial space. Palantir is one of the more… Continue Reading
August 15, 2023 — Since a recapitalization investment from the Houston-based Capstreet Group in 2021, TradePending has acquired two companies — AutoAPR in 2022, and Snapcell, a transaction announced this week. Snapcell, a SaaS automotive video marketing platform, was founded by Brent Williams in 2018 in the U.K. Its U.S. headquarters are in Tampa. It… Continue Reading
August 14, 2023 — The number of U.S. dealerships is up slightly during the first six months of the year according to Urban Science’s 2023 midyear Automotive Franchise Activity Report (FAR). Since the forced elimination of thousands of General Motors and Chrysler stores in 2009 as part of the government’s automotive bailout plan, the franchised… Continue Reading
July 25, 2023 — A few months ago, analysts and industry observers were convinced that used-vehicle online retailer Carvana would be forced into bankruptcy by the end of the year. Once the darling of Wall Street with a valuation of over $50 billion in 2021, the company crashed in 2022 after tearing through more than… Continue Reading
July 20, 2023 — On a blistering acquisition pace this year, The Reynolds and Reynolds Company announced its fourth purchase since January, picking up Xzilon, an Oregon-based vehicle protection and appearance solution provider. Xzilon, founded in 2003, offers F&I products that protect and enhance the exteriors and interiors of vehicles, boats, RVs, and motorcycles. Kevin… Continue Reading
July 18, 2023 — JM Family Enterprises Inc. is taking the lead in a new growth funding round for Skaivision, a computer vision artificial intelligence solutions provider for automotive dealerships. Mark Queen, Skaivision founder and CEO, unveiled the concept at the AUTOVATE conference in December 2021. Since then, he raised a seed round, including investment from dealers, developed the software,… Continue Reading
July 10, 2023 — In June, 16 dealership buy-sell transactions involving 39 rooftops were announced. We’ll likely hear of more June deals in the coming weeks, as there often is a lag between a transaction’s completion and its announcement. July is off to a slow start with only two transactions being announced through the first… Continue Reading
July 10, 2023 — Dealers selling one or more of the Big Three domestic automotive brands may want to mark September 14, 2023, on their calendars. At midnight on September 14, the current contracts between the United Auto Workers Union and Ford Motor Co., General Motors, and Stellantis will expire, resulting in what likely will… Continue Reading