June 24, 2014 General Motors branded dealerships are proving to be the most popular on the acquisition front in 2014 with GMC leading with 11 franchises sold and Chevrolet and Buick in second with 10. Meanwhile, five Cadillac dealerships were sold. Honda also has seen several of its dealerships find new owners with eight buy-sells…
June 3, 2014 — Internet Brands, the parent company to CarsDirect.com and AutoData Solutions, was acquired today by the private equity group KKR for $1.1 billion. JMI Equity and Hellman & Friedman have owned Internet Brands since 2010 when they paid $640 million to take the company private. CEO Bob Brisco, who has run the… Continue Reading
Internet Brands, the parent company to CarsDirect.com and AutoData Solutions, was acquired today by the private equity group KKR for $1.1 billion. JMI Equity and Hellman & Friedman have owned Internet Brands since 2010 when they paid $640 million to take the company private. CEO Bob Brisco, who has run the company since the fall…
The story regarding DealerSocket and Vista Equity Partners’ investment in the CRM firm is a bit clearer today but still raises several questions. TBR first broke the story while at the Digital Dealer conference in Atlantic City on May 6th on Twitter reporting that Vista Equity had acquired a majority interest in DealerSocket. A private…
The story regarding DealerSocket and Vista Equity Partners’ investment in the CRM firm is a bit clearer today but still raises several questions. TBR first broke the story while at the Digital Dealer conference in Atlantic City on May 6th on Twitter reporting that Vista Equity had acquired a majority interest in DealerSocket. A private…
A couple of days ago, on April 30, Southern Motors Chevrolet filed a lawsuit against General Motors for blocking its purchase of Fuller Chevrolet, located in Rincon, GA. According to dealers and individuals who broker dealership acquisitions one of the more under-reported dynamics of the dealership buy-sell field is the growing willingness on the part…
April 20, 2014 — Six New Jersey dealerships owned by Bob Ciasulli last week filed lawsuits against Toyota Motor Sales USA and American Honda Motor Corp. claiming dealer incentive programs created by manufacturers are illegal according to New Jersey state franchise law. The implications of this case could be far reaching because there is little… Continue Reading
A few years ago – prior to the recession – I walked the floor of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit with AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson (was not chairman at the time). At the time, AutoNation was consolidating all of its stores onto ADP’s dealer management system. Jackson shared a vision with me… Continue Reading
The $585 million sale yesterday of Apartments.com to the CoStar Group potentially could be one of the biggest acquisition stories in the automotive retail vendor space this year. The reason the sale of an apartment lead-generating company is so important in the automotive retail space is because of what it means for Cars.com. Prior to… Continue Reading
YEAR IN REVIEW The pace of automotive dealership buy/sell activity was moderately brisk in 2013, with 180 dealerships accounting for 260 franchises changing owners in the U.S. January started with a bang when Group 1 Automotive announced the acquisition of one of Brazil’s largest retailers, UAB Motors Participacoes S.A., for $47.4 million cash, 1.45 million…