Contact at Once Acquired

Contact at Once Acquired

November 5, 2014 — UPDATED WITH NEW REVENUE INFORMATION — Dealership website chat service firm Contact at Once! has been acquired by LivePerson Inc. (NASDAQ: LPSN) for approximately $65 million. Contact at Once! provides text and chat services for dealership websites in the automotive retail space. It acquired the chat solution of OutSell earlier this year.… Continue Reading

3rd Quarter Dealership Buy-Sell Update

3rd Quarter Dealership Buy-Sell Update

November 3, 2014 –The dealership buy-sell market remains hot through for the year with 200 acquisitions through the third quarter. While Warren Buffett’s announcement brought a renewed sense of energy to the market, it ultimately may dampen potential acquisitions for the next couple of quarters as buyers are content to wait out what is proving to…

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Dealership of the Future Already Here

Dealership of the Future Already Here

November 1, 2014 — A dealership in Great Britain is going to try to sell cars without any salespeople. You read that right — no sales people. The dealership provides iPads located throughout the store for customers to use to complete the entire transaction online, including the financing. The dealership does have “product angels” available… Continue Reading

Autobytel’s Uncertain Future

Autobytel’s Uncertain Future

October 29, 2014 — Autobytel’s next earnings call with analysts, slated for November 5th, could get interesting. A scathing letter last week from activist investor Ancora Advisors LLC reveals intense dissatisfaction with the current management team and likely will force a sale of Autobytel. The question is, who would buy it? The last month has…

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Cadillac’s Plan – New Home & New Vehicles; Fewer Stores?

Cadillac’s Plan – New Home & New Vehicles; Fewer Stores?

October 29, 2014 — Dealers in the market for a Cadillac franchise may want to tread carefully. A month ago we wrote about what we believe will be a painful forecast for many of Cadillac’s 924 dealers. The brand has a new home in New York and as many as 10 new products coming in…

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Cliff Banks - The Banks Report

Activist Investor Targets CDK

October 28, 2014 — CDK’s share prices jump as Wall Street welcomes the news of a new investor in the dealership technology vendor. Only trading on NASDAQ just under a month following its spinoff from ADP, dealer technology provider CDK Global already is being targeted by an activist investment group seeking to discuss with management how to…

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Cliff Banks - The Banks Report

Buffett Bounce Over?

Whatever bounce the automotive retail stocks received from Berkshire Hathaway’s announcement 12 days ago that it was entering the car sales space disappeared quickly on Monday as several firms watched their shares plummet led by Lithia Motor’s drop of more than 20% — from more than $80 to under $64 in less than a day. Lithia’s…

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