CHARLESTON, S.C. -

American Auto Auction Group announced today that it has been purchased by Huron Capital Partners, a Detroit-based private equity investor that aims to grow lower middle-market companies in partnership with management through customized buy-and-build strategies. 

Serving as the new chief executive officer of AAAG will be Cam Hitchcock, who most recently served as executive chairman of Primeritus Financial Services and partner at Elysian Advisors.  Meanwhile, Bill McIver will work in a consulting role as he transitions from his role as CEO to an active member of the board of directors.

Darris McClure, currently the AAAG president, will be president and chief operating officer. Bruce Reese will remain chief financial officer.

“I am honored and excited to partner with Huron, Darris McClure and the AAAG senior management team. Additionally, I’d like to thank Bill McIver for his key contributions to AAAG’s success and for his continued involvement with the company,” said Hitchcock.

“We have closely watched the dealer sale market segment over the last 24 months and believe that there are significant opportunities to better serve dealer consignors in many U.S. markets,” he continued. “Our objective is to provide AAAG’s customers with highly responsive, tailored service offerings across multiple geographies.  Huron has committed significant capital to enhance and scale this platform, and we look forward to deploying it.”

Sharing a bit more about Hitchcock’s experience, it includes time with the boards of two private equity-backed auction remarketing companies. Previously, he was president and CEO at Dealer Services Group and was corporate CFO at ADESA, Inc.

Peter Mogk, senior partner at Huron, said: “Huron is very excited to partner with the AAAG family of auctions, their employees, and customers to continue building what we believe is the preeminent national auction group focused primarily on dealer-to-dealer sales.

“In the years to come, we intend to make a difference in the lives of people by investing in our team and the communities we serve.  We know from experience that value-added customer service begins with equipping our people with the best facilities, training, and career opportunities,” he continued. “We believe we have ample resources dedicated to build, grow and acquire auctions that embrace technology and ever-changing customer needs.”

AAAG is an entrepreneurial, leading auction provider with sites in South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, Texas, California and Wisconsin as well as private-label auctions across multiple markets.