CarGurus has wrapped up its purchase of a majority stake in CarOffer.
The company announced early Thursday evening that its acquisition of 51% interest in the automated instant vehicle trade platform, a deal initially announced in December, had closed.
CarGurus also has the ability to purchase CarOffer’s remaining equity interest over the next three years.
When it was announced last month, the deal was valued at $275 million.
“We are thrilled to welcome the CarOffer team to the CarGurus family and excited to join forces to drive further innovation and value for our customers,” CarGurus chief financial officer Jason Trevisan said in Thursday's news release.
“Digital wholesale creates exciting new opportunities for efficiencies in the marketplace, especially as more of the automotive buying journey shifts online,” Trevisan said. “By combining CarGurus and CarOffer capabilities, we can deliver a powerful new solution for dealers to buy and sell the right inventory at the right price. We believe this will not only be a win for dealers, but for consumers as well.”
Bruce Thompson founded CarOffer and is its chief executive officer. He will continue to head up CarOffer from its Plano, Texas headquarters.
“I’m incredibly proud of what the CarOffer team has accomplished so far, and I can’t wait to begin this next phase of our growth in partnership with a company as pioneering as CarGurus,” Thompson said in a release. “We see tremendous potential in this combination, and we look forward to getting to work integrating our capabilities and continuing to build better solutions for dealers.”
The purchase gives CarGurus the ability to offer dealers additional wholesale capabilities, leading to a digital solution by which dealers can sell and acquire retail and wholesale vehicles, the company said in the initial December announcement. CarGurus said expanding into wholesale is a key piece of its overall platform strategy.
“CarOffer is disrupting the traditional wholesale auction model in the same way that CarGurus gained our position as the leading online consumer automotive marketplace in the U.S., by leveraging technology, data and analytics to build more transparent solutions,” Trevisan said in the announcement from last month.
“The combination of CarGurus’ industry-leading dealer network and our Instant Market Value retail pricing, and CarOffer’s instant trade technology and logistics capabilities, creates a powerful selling platform,” he said. “We believe we will be the most valuable partner to help dealers sell more cars at retail and now also sell and acquire cars in the wholesale channel.”
Here’s potentially a positive record on pace to be set during this tumultuous year.
Kerrigan Advisors reported on Monday that the dealership buy/sell market continued to soar during the third quarter, putting it on track to surpass record transaction numbers established in 2015.
And with a flurry of mega dealer transactions and high dealership earnings, the firm’s Third Quarter 2020 Blue Sky Report also highlighted that blue-sky values shot to unprecedented levels during the quarter, too.
“As we predicted, there was no softening of this record-breaking market,” Kerrigan Advisors founder and managing director Erin Kerrigan said in a news release.
“A 94% year-over-year rise in dealership earnings in Q3 was driven by higher vehicle gross profit margins, reduced operating expenses, limited inventory (which drove up prices) and increased operational efficiency,” Kerrigan continued. “This created a perfect storm for a white-hot buy/sell environment, one that we predict will surpasses the historic levels of 2015.”
Kerrigan Advisors indicated 73 dealership buy/sell transactions were completed during Q3, pushing the total to 186 transactions for the first nine months of the year. That figure represents a 15.5% increase above the amount recorded during the first nine months of 2019, according to data from The Banks Report, Automotive News and Kerrigan Advisors’ research.
Despite periods of retail disruption due to COVID-19, Kerrigan pointed out that 2020 thus far has achieved the highest level of transaction activity since 2015.
“Of particular note were the high numbers of multi-dealership transactions completed in Q3, including mega dealer transactions, representing 25% of the buy/sell market for the first nine months of the year. We expect this trend to continue into 2021,” said Kerrigan, whose firm advised on the sale of 22 dealerships during the past quarter.
According to the Blue Sky Report, public and private dealership valuations exceeded prior highs.
The Kerrigan Index — comprised of the seven publicly traded dealership groups — hit record levels in the third quarter, with the publics’ average blue-sky multiple at the end of the third quarter at 7.6 times, making most private dealership acquisitions highly accretive to earnings.
“The resilience of auto sales in the face of the pandemic continues to drive high valuations,” said Ryan Kerrigan, managing director of Kerrigan Advisors. “Unlike other retail industries which have yet to rebound, auto retail barely missed a beat after the economic disruption in March and April.
“In fact, the industry’s growth rate accelerated in June, while its costs declined, resulting in incredible earnings growth,” Ryan Kerrigan continued. “As a result, buyer demand for dealerships is on the rise and dealers are bullish on their valuations.”
Reinforcing that bullish outlook is Kerrigan Advisors’ second annual dealer survey, which found a rising number of dealers expecting the value of their business to increase over the next 12 months.
The survey also showed nearly half of participating dealers are expecting a rise in buy/sell activity as a result of COVID-19.
The Blue Sky Report, however, emphasizes that, with 2020 earnings being the most volatile on record, buyers are pricing blue sky based on adjusted 2020 earnings, removing profit improvements deemed unlikely to continue in the future and adding back the one-time losses associated with 2020’s period of economic shutdown.
In the report’s analysis of specific brand valuations, Toyota continues to stand out as the most valuable non-luxury franchise.
The firm said Toyota dealers are more optimistic on valuation than any other franchise dealer body, and it commands the highest blue sky multiple amongst non-luxury franchises.
Another franchise showing positive trends is Ford. Kerrigan Advisors upgraded the Blue Oval’s multiple outlook from negative to steady.
“Ford’s third quarter profits were impressive,” Ryan Kerrigan said. “Our dealer survey revealed a significant uptick in Ford dealers’ expectations for valuation improvement. One cannot underestimate the recent impact of Jim Farley’s leadership on buyers’ confidence in Ford’s future.”
Sliding in the opposite direction, the firm mentioned the downgrading of Infiniti’s multiple ranges — from 3.5 on the high end to 3.0 and from 2.5 on the low end to 2.0 — as a result of the franchise’s continued weakness in buyer demand.
To recap, main highlights from the Third Quarter 2020 Blue Sky Report by Kerrigan Advisors included:
• Buy/sell transactions increased 15.5% over the first nine months of 2019
• 73 dealership buy/sell transactions were completed in Q3 2020, for a total of 186 transactions for the first nine months of the year
• There were 46 multi-dealership transactions representing 25% of the buy/sell market
• The publics’ average blue sky multiple at the end of the third quarter was 7.6 times, a 171.4% increase from Q1, as they completed a record level of acquisition spending in the third quarter. Year to date, Lithia and Asbury have spent $1.56 billion on US acquisitions
• Private dealerships’ average blue-sky value is $6.9 million, an amount currently above 2015’s prior high
• Private dealership groups represented 90% of the buyers of dealerships through the third quarter
• Import luxury franchises increased their buy/sell market share in the third quarter — at the expense of import non-luxury and domestic franchises
• Domestic franchises dominate the buy/sell market with 54% market share
• To date, four of the Top 100 dealership groups (4%) have sold either their entire group or the majority of their dealerships
• 33% of dealers surveyed in 2020 expect the value of their dealership to increase in the next 12 months, as compared to 26% surveyed in 2019
“Overall, today’s dealership buyers believe auto retail sales will outpace the country’s economic growth,” said Kerrigan, who added, “2020 marks a stunning reversal of trends that were thought to dampen demand for cars in the long term, including a steep decline in urbanization, ridesharing and public transit, all of which are contributing to sales growth projections for 2021.”
To obtain the complete report or more details about the Kerrigan Index, go to kerriganadvisors.com.
It's another acquisition for Lithia Motors & Driveway, this time in Iowa.
The public retailer said Tuesday it has purchased Ramsey Subaru and Mazda, which it said are the highest-volume dealers for those respective brands in the state.
Lithia anticipates the purchase will add $100 million to its annual revenues. Lithia's network expansion so far this year is expected to add more than $3.5 billion in annualized revenues.
"We are delighted to add another high-performing store to serve our customers in the North Central Region," Lithia president and chief executive officer Bryan DeBoer said in a news release. "This acquisition improves our brand mix and ability to complete in-home and in-network solutions throughout their entire vehicle ownership lifecycle."
Lithia has been quite the active buyer in the second half of the year.
Since July, Lithia has now made 10 announcements of purchases. Beore the Ramsey acquisition, the most recent was the Sterling Motorcars group purchase earlier this month that gave the retailer a presence in the Mid-Atlantic.
A day before Thanksgiving, Hertz Global Holdings announced that it has entered into a stock and asset purchase agreement to sell substantially all of the assets of its wholly owned subsidiary, Donlen Corp.
However, a bankruptcy court has to approve the deal that could be valued as much as $875 million.
Should the deal go through, Donlen would be sold to Athene Holding, a leading financial services company, for an anticipated cash payment of $825 million subject to adjustments for fleet equity, working capital and assumed debt.
Hertz said that it anticipates that these adjustments will result in a purchase price at closing of at least $875 million.
Hertz said the agreement with Athene was reached following an initial marketing process. If approved by the bankruptcy court at a hearing anticipated for Dec. 16, the company said the agreement with Athene will serve as the “stalking horse bid” in a court-supervised sales process, and the agreement will establish a minimum sale price for Donlen.
Hertz said that it expects to conduct a competitive auction process pursuant to bidding procedures that will be subject to approval by the bankruptcy court to ensure Hertz receives the highest and best offer for the Donlen business.
“The agreement to sell our Donlen business is another significant accomplishment for Hertz during our financial restructuring, following the $1.65 billion debtor-in-possession financing and $4 billion fleet financing recently approved by the bankruptcy court,” Hertz president and chief executive officer Paul Stone said in a news release.
“As we continue to work to position Hertz and our business for the future, we believe this transaction provides significant additional flexibility to help us achieve our strategic and financial objectives,” Stone continued. “At the same time, customers will continue to be able to benefit from Donlen’s commitment to excellence in fleet management solutions and service.”
Donlen president Tom Callahan shared his perspective on what the pending transaction could do for the fleet-management company.
“We are pleased with this opportunity to position Donlen’s business for continued long-term success and appreciate Athene’s commitment to continuing our tradition of high-quality service, customer satisfaction and award-winning fleet management, working with our talented employees,” Callahan said.
“Our fleet customers remain our top priority and we look forward to continuing to be a trusted partner providing high levels of customer satisfaction, impactful technology and fleet solutions,” he added.
Finally, Athene chairman and chief executive officer Jim Belardi touched on what possibly adding Donlen to the company’s portfolio could do to that organization.
“We are excited about the opportunity to partner with the strong team at Donlen to acquire an industry leading fleet management franchise that is well-suited to meet our objective of sourcing attractive, differentiated long-term investments for our growing portfolio,” Belardi said
“In support of the business, strengthening the balance sheet and its significant growth opportunity, we are making an upfront investment of approximately $1 billion, and we are prepared to provide incremental capital that would support approximately $2 billion of additional growth in the fleet,” he continued.
“We plan to support Donlen with resources to invest in technology and grow their team, which will enable them to continue offering best-in-class service to their long-standing customer base,” Belardi went on to say.
White & Case LLP is serving as Hertz’s legal advisor, Moelis & Co. is serving as investment banker and FTI Consulting is serving as Hertz’s financial advisor.
Information related to the Chapter 11 proceedings and access to court documents for Hertz and Donlen can be found at https://restructuring.primeclerk.com/hertz/.
Shift’s merger and journey toward becoming a publicly traded company on Nasdaq first announced back in June took an important step forward on Thursday.
The vehicle ecommerce platform announced that the registration statement on Form S-4 filed by Insurance Acquisition Corp., to the previously announced business combination with Shift has been declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
According to a news release, Shift has commenced the process of printing and mailing the definitive proxy statement/prospectus relating to the special meeting of Insurance Acquisition’s stockholders to be held on Oct. 13 in connection with the business combination.
The proxy statement/prospectus is being mailed to stockholders of record as of the close of business on Sept. 10, listed in the documents as the record date.
Those documents and the notice of the special meeting are set to be mailed on Monday to stockholders of record as of the record date.
“We have made substantial progress scaling Shift to capture share in our core markets since our launch in 2014. Merging with Insurance Acquisition Corp. not only brings Shift to the public markets, but it also unlocks new opportunities and marks the next phase of our growth,” Shift co-chief executive officer George Arison said in the news release.
“We are committed to shareholders. We will continue to make smart investments to drive revenue growth and deliver long term value to our shareholders,” Arison added.
Shift recapped what it has filed with the SEC.
The registration statement on Form S-4 includes a proxy statement/prospectus that is both the proxy statement to be distributed to its stockholders in connection with its solicitation of proxies for the vote by its stockholders with respect to the business combination and other matters described in the registration statement.
The filing also includes the prospectus relating to the offer and sale of the securities of the company to be issued in the business combination.
Shift noted that che Company’s stockholders and other interested persons are advised to read the definitive proxy statement/prospectus because these materials contain important information about the company, Shift and the business combination.
Stockholders may also obtain copies of the registration statement on Form S-4 and the definitive proxy statement/prospectus, without charge, at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or by directing a request to:
Insurance Acquisition Corp.
Attn: Joseph Pooler
2929 Arch St.
Suite 1703
Philadelphia, Pa. 19104
The announcement also mentioned that Insurance Acquisition, Shift and certain directors and officers of the respective firms may be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies of the company’s stockholders with respect to the approval of the merger.
The announcement indicated that information regarding the company’s directors and officers and a description of their interests in the company is contained in the definitive proxy statement/prospectus for the business combination.
Additional information regarding the participants in the proxy solicitation, including Shift’s directors and officers, and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, is included in the definitive proxy statement/prospectus for the business combination, according to the announcement.
Perhaps the most well-known auto auction group in the Pacific Northwest is going to the Southwest with its latest expansion.
The McConkey Auction Group, headquartered in Spokane, Wash., announced Tuesday that it has added Dealers Auto Auction of Las Vegas to its group.
DAA Las Vegas joins existing MAG auctions DAA Northwest and DAA Seattle.
The deal to purchase the Nevada auction was completed last Wednesday, MAG president and chief executive officer Bob McConkey said via email.
Dan Thomas and Russ Norrish of DAA Las Vegas will remain with the auction as vice president/partner and managing partner, respectively.
“Russ and I started our careers in the auction industry 46 years ago,” Thomas said in a news release. “We were working for my father, who founded Golden Gate Auto Auction. Shortly afterward, we met Bob and have been personal friends and business associates ever since. It’s hard to believe that the three of us have 132 years of collective auction experience!”
Norrish said of working with the McConkey group: “After all these years in the business, we now have the chance to work together. I’m looking forward to this next chapter in my career — this is going to be fun!”
In an email, McConkey said Vegas is a “strategic location for our customer base,” and that this move was an opportunity for a larger independent to have a footprint in such a major market as Vegas and complement the existing Manheim and ADESA presence there.
Noting that the group’s influence is on the West Coast, McConkey called the DAA Las Vegas addition a “natural progress for us” and a “great launch point for expansion of our virtual presence in the West” through the digital partnership with EBlock that facilitates online dealer-to-dealer sales for the group.
The DAA Las Vegas purchase also marks a return of the group to the Southwest. The McConkey Auction Group sold its EPI El Paso auction in Texas to the XLerate Group in 2016.
In a related move, but in the Midwest, the McConkey Auction Group sold its KCI Kansas City auction to America’s Auto Auction last fall.
Vehicle sales aren’t the only retail category to drop because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Kerrigan Advisors’ first quarter 2020 Blue Sky Report outlined the decline of the dealership buy/sell market impacted by the same trigger.
Kerrigan Advisors reported this week that Q1 activity fell by 9.3% year-over-year. The firm indicated transactions slated to close at the end of the quarter were postponed, renegotiated or, in the worst case, terminated.
However, the report indicated that blue sky values are not dramatically impacted and, with auto sales due for an uptick, a buy/sell rebound in the second half of this year is anticipated.
Kerrigan Advisors acknowledged a bright start to the year was not enough to avoid severe financial whiplash as U.S. dealerships shuttered in mid-March and consumers were told to stay home. As a result, sales plummeted in March and April, resulting in one of the sharpest declines in dealership earnings on record, and the buy/sell market followed suit.
Kerrigan Advisors is expecting the second quarter to be the slowest buy/sell market in recent history.
“As a result of the coronavirus, auto dealers had to refocus their energy on internal operations and cash preservation in March and April,” said Erin Kerrigan, founder and managing director of Kerrigan Advisors. “And while, at present, the industry is still managing through the economic effects of the health crisis, we see better days ahead thanks to the resilience of the dealer model that’s likely to thrive as dealerships reopen.
“In fact, with industry cost cuts and improved efficiencies, we expect auto retail will see significant improvements in profitability, making more money on less revenue, in the second half of 2020,” Kerrigan continued in a news release.
Given strong buyer demand and today’s low cost of capital, The Blue Sky Report by Kerrigan Advisors does not forecast dramatic changes in blue sky values in the foreseeable future, despite the economic impact of COVID-19 in the first and second quarter.
Once again, the firm asserted that many dealers have shown the ability to maintain profits, even during the worst of times. “In the depths of the Great Recession, auto retailers remained profitable,” report authors said, “and sellers choose to patiently wait for a buyer to reach their valuation expectations, rather than sell at a discounted valuation.”
Kerrigan Advisors explained this situation means that the most likely impact of COVID-19 will be a slower buy/sell market in the second quarter of this year, rather than a decline in dealership valuations.
As vehicles sales rise and buyers seek to put a substantial amount of capital to work, the report indicated potential for a rebound in buy/sell activity in the second half of the year and noted that the capital markets are experiencing a surge in auto retail valuations.
Since bottoming on March 18, The Kerrigan Index has risen 81.2% through the end of May. Also, the firm pointed out the industry is seeing improved profits from an increased utilization of technology to cut costs as digital retailing becomes the order of the day.
“While the coronavirus will undoubtedly force some distressed dealership sales, those one-off valuations are not a reflection of the overall market,” said Ryan Kerrigan, managing director of Kerrigan Advisors. “In fact, while this global health crisis is impacting auto retail in many different ways, industry partners, vendors, lenders and OEMS have provided dealers with tremendous financial and administrative support to ensure they weather the financial impact of lost sales and avoid closure.
“And, auto retailers have the most flexible cost structures within the supply chain, so they are best able to adjust to unforeseen events,” Ryan Kerrigan continued. “Given that, the health crisis has caused few distressed transactions.”
Kerrigan Advisors made one valuation upgrade in its latest Blue Sky Report, increasing Toyota’s low-end multiple from 5.25 to 5.5. The firm noted this increase reflects rising buyer demand for one of the highest quality franchises in the market and a belief that Toyota is best prepared amongst all OEMs to weather the economic impact of COVID-19.
“Toyota had one of the lowest sales declines in the first quarter of any franchise and maintains the highest credit rating of the OEMs,” Erin Kerrigan said. “With a flight to quality assets, Toyota franchises are expected to command even higher multiples as buyers seek safe investments during the pandemic.”
Kerrigan Advisors identified the following three trends, which are expected to meaningfully impact the buy/sell market for the remainder of the year, including.
• Sellers’ blue sky pricing expectations exclude COVID-19 financial impact
• Surge in buyer/investor demand due to industry growth prospects and low cost of capital
• Buy/sell activity by state diverges based on level of economic shutdown
Other highlights from the Q1 report by Kerrigan Advisors include:
• Prior to COVID-19, dealership earnings through February were on track for a 38.7% increase over 2019 and near 2015’s record level.
• First quarter buy/sell activity declined 9.3%, with 49 transactions closing compared to 54 transactions during the first quarter of 2019, according to The Banks Report, Automotive News and Kerrigan Advisors’ research.
• The first quarter saw a high level (31%) of multi-dealership transactions.
• Among the franchises being acquired, domestics continued to dominate in the first quarter of 2020, representing 57% of buy/sells, up 84% since 2015. Domestic dealership buy/sell market share is now consistent with franchise market share. Kerrigan Advisors expects domestics to dominate the 2020 buy/sell market, as multi-generation dealer families decide to sell post-pandemic. Additionally, import luxury’s buy/sell market share increased in the first quarter to 18%, up 12.5% over last year.
• The public auto retailers’ spending on U.S. dealership acquisitions in the first quarter increased 11.5%, compared to the first quarter of last year. The publics were expected to spend over $1 billion on acquisitions in the first quarter with Asbury Automotive Group’s acquisition of Park Place Dealerships.
• Asbury Automotive Group terminated the Park Place acquisition on March 24. The company’s market capitalization declined 51.6% from the time of its announcement of the Park Place Dealerships acquisition in December to the time of the transaction termination.
• Kerrigan Advisors expects the second quarter of 2020 to be the slowest buy/sell market in recent history due to pandemic stay-at-home orders.
• Kerrigan Advisors upgraded Toyota’s low-end blue sky multiple from 5.25 to 5.5 and downgraded Ford’s low-end blue sky multiple, Buick GMC’s high-end and low-end multiples, and Nissan’s low-end and high-end blue sky multiples.
The complete Blue Sky Report published by Kerrigan Advisors and other firm services can be found on this website.
Saying the new company serves a list of clients that includes 90% of the world’s automotive and global customer experience sector companies, InMoment and MaritzCX said they have agreed to combine the two companies.
“This industry needs a new and disruptive approach if we truly wish to transform the way businesses look to improve experiences and results,” MaritzCX president and chief executive officer Mike Sinoway said in a news release.
He continued, “The combined company will offer a transformative approach to enhancing the customer experience.”
The transaction is expected to close in early March.
With a global team of 1,500 employees located in 20 offices in North America, Europe and Asia, the new company will immediately support more than 2,000 brands.
Andrew Joiner will serve as chief executive officer of the combined organization. John Lewis will continue to serve as board of directors chair. The combined leadership team includes leadership from both organizations. For an unspecified period, the companies expect MaritzCX to operate as MaritzCX, an InMoment company.
“In this world of rising consumer expectations, it is imperative for businesses to have an experience program that can continuously monitor, understand, analyze and improve the total customer experience with true agility,” said InMoment chief executive officer Andrew Joiner.
Joiner continued, “We are bringing together two world-class companies that will deliver a truly unique value to our clients in their ongoing quest to win over customers. I couldn’t be more excited about our future as we bring together these two amazing companies to redefine ‘what’s possible’ in our industry — meeting clients where they are today and innovating together to create the future.”
Chicago-based equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners is backing the combined company, which in addition to automotive companies serves clients including banks, retailers and hospitality companies.
“Combining the strengths of MaritzCX and InMoment is exciting for our clients, for our employees and for the market,” Sinoway said.
Clients of both companies will have access to technical functionality and will maintain continuity with existing programs. That, according to the companies, will protect and future-proof their investment.
“Winning companies are those with access to the right customer knowledge, at the right time, that drives the right action to fundamentally improve the delivered customer experience,” said John Lewis, executive chairman of InMoment, Madison Dearborn Partners executive partner and former global president of Nielsen.
Lewis continued, “However, that’s all easier said than done. Companies can often underestimate how challenging it is to knit together the systems in a way that creates tangible value to consumers and also deliver economic value to the enterprise. The only way to ‘crack-the-code’ is to marry talented domain experts with leading-edge technology to create tailored systems that can deliver on the bigger vision. You need both sides of the equation — and that is exactly what we are getting by bringing these two companies together.”
CDK Global pivoted its operations this week by selling a segment to Ansira Partners, an independent global marketing services and solutions company.
On Thursday, the company announced it has signed a definitive agreement to sell all assets of the company’s digital marketing business — including all advertising solutions and website services — to Ansira Partners.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed by either company.
According to a news release, CDK Global selected Ansira following a thorough process that identified and evaluated proposals from multiple potential buyers for the sale of the digital marketing business. Executives highlighted that Ansira has an extensive background in the auto vertical and will bring their expertise to further build out the solutions of the digital marketing business, while also implementing the industry-leading technology and services of the digital marketing business to drive more hyper-local opportunities for customers.
“We believe that Ansira is the right partner to continue growing the strong technology platform and skilled management team of our digital marketing business,” CDK Global president and chief executive officer Brian Krzanich said.
“We remain fully committed to our digital marketing business customers, and we will ensure a seamless and uninterrupted transition through the completion of the sale,” Krzanich continued.
The proposed transaction is expected to close in the first half of this year, subject to customary closing conditions.
“We know that brands must reach customers in that ‘last mile’ to drive the greatest success, so it was clear to us that Ansira’s footprint in marketing services and their automotive industry expertise, coupled with the user-friendly platform of the digital marketing business will provide an exceptional offering for our collective clients and their customers,” said Alan Herrick, an operating partner with Advent International and chairman of Ansira’s board of directors.
“The acquisition will allow the CDK digital marketing business to continue on its accelerated path of product and services innovation, as well as to deliver highly responsive and consistent customer service, while enriching Ansira’s local marketing activation offerings,” Herrick continued.
“The acquisition of the CDK digital marketing business will provide an opportunity for Ansira to further extend its efforts in local marketing activation solutions for automotive clients, leveraging the great depths of their dealer solutions,” Herrick went on to say.
“What we know for certain is that success in marketing for brands greatly relies on them delivering in that ‘last mile’ for their customers,” he added. “With the CDK digital marketing business, Ansira will provide another solution for clients to reach their customers locally, in a seamless and relevant way.”
The CDK digital marketing business uses powerful proprietary websites and advertising technology to improve the customer experience and drive more than 83 million monthly unique visitors across a multi-tiered automotive landscape. Aimed at improving the customer experience, the digital marketing business offerings include websites, advertising, digital consulting, earned marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), and social product lines.
In addition, the newly refreshed CDK digital marketing business platform can deliver new user features and improved dealer usability.
“While we continue on our accelerated path of product and services innovation, we will be able to tap into Ansira’s extensive experience in automotive, its world-class marketing services, and creative, to improve our dealer marketing effectiveness and the insights we bring to the industry,” said Jen Cole, senior vice president at CDK Digital.
“Our shared passion with Ansira for digital marketing technology and services will help drive even more value for our clients and their customers,” Cole continued. “We will continue to bring clients industry-leading platform innovations to help them compete in local markets and realize greater returns on their marketing investments.”
The CDK digital marketing business has more than 175 representatives in the field to call on dealers in the market; a footprint designed to provide a responsive and consistent quality of service.
In addition, the company has a team of almost 200 employees in India focused on operations and engineering, which expands Ansira’s global presence.
“The CDK Digital Marketing Business will amplify Ansira’s extensive and industry-recognized expertise in the auto vertical, driving customers to strategically leverage hyper-local opportunities as a unique selling point that can help drive growth and build and maintain customer brand loyalty,” Ansira chief executive officer Jay Dettling said.
“The acquisition solidifies Ansira’s depth and scale of local marketing activation solutions, and utilizing its newly-refreshed and ever-evolving platform, as well as their agents in the field, will provide our clients with another solution to drive in-market effectiveness,” Dettling went on to say.
Ansira is backed by Advent International, one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors, with deep expertise in the business and financial services sector.
Ropes & Gray is serving as legal counsel to Advent in the transaction.
Timbrook Automotive recently expanded its dealership group with Kerrigan Advisors playing a part in the transaction; the firm’s 85th dealership sale and 11th Honda franchise sale since 2015.
Kerrigan Advisors represented and advised partners Bill Barnes and Paul Ritchie on their recent sale of Altoona Honda to Timbrook Automotive, which has 11 dealerships throughout Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia.
“Altoona Honda has always been an integral part of the community here in Blair County,” Barnes said in a news release. “When we purchased the dealership in 2013, our aim was to respect and continue the values established in 1972, when the store opened.
“We went into this transaction with the same mindset. Kerrigan Advisors helped us achieve a transaction reflective of that wish, with ethical and professional representation and by identifying a buyer who shared our same values,” Barnes continued.
Altoona Honda’s long record of success includes winning the Honda President’s Award for three consecutive years. The award recognizes Honda dealerships that achieve excellence in all aspects of sales and service operations.
“Altoona Honda has always exhibited the highest levels of excellence and is a pillar of the community. We knew how very important this decision was to Bill and Paul and were honored to represent them in the sale,” said Erin Kerrigan, managing director of Kerrigan Advisors.
“Our experience through 10 previous Honda transactions helped inform this process, ensuring that we identified a buyer who not only understood Altoona Honda’s legacy of quality and service, but one that would carry on that legacy, while living up to the values of the Honda brand,” Kerrigan continued.
Barnes and Ritchie will continue to own and operate Hagerstown Honda and Hagerstown Kia dealerships. The partners shared the sale to Timbrook Automotive enables them to focus on their Hagerstown dealership operations, while ensuring that Altoona Honda continues to thrive.
“When it was time to find a buyer for Altoona Honda, we wanted an advisor that had plenty of Honda experience, as well as one who understood the integral role Altoona plays in this community,” Barnes said. “The wisdom, business acuity and sensitivity that Kerrigan Advisors displayed in previous Honda dealership transactions convinced me that they were the right partners for us. And we were not wrong.
“The Kerrigan Advisors team did an excellent job representing the dealership in a successful sale,” he continued. “I could not be more pleased.”
Kerrigan Advisors vice president Gabe Robleto added, “Honda is known for its strong throughput, and very consistent dealership profitability and is highly sought after by today’s buyers. Our experience with other Honda transactions meant we knew how to value the franchise and what to look for in a potential buyer.
“With Timbrook as the new owner, we are confident Altoona Honda will continue to compete for President’s Awards and service the greater Altoona community long into the future,” Robleto went on to say.
Michael Charapp of Charapp & Weiss LLP served as legal counsel to the seller. Wayne Heavener of Skidmore & Alderson served as legal counsel to the buyer.
