It was announced this afternoon that Black Book has completed the purchase of William Ward Publishing — the exclusive distributor of Canadian Black Book vehicle values.
CBB is utilized as a valuation guide by financial institutions and dealers across Canada.
The announcement was made by Richard P. Malloch, president of Hearst Business Media, the group that includes Black Book.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"We have a rich 55-year history serving the Canadian automobile marketplace with William Ward Publishing and we are delighted to welcome them into the fold," Malloch said. "Adding William Ward Publishing to our group furthers our ability to deliver essential vehicle pricing data and innovative delivery systems to our customers throughout North America."
William Ward Publishing was founded in 1961 by Bill Ward and was designed to distribute Canadian Black Book used vehicle values, which are based on actual Canadian market transactions.
Now, the company has progressed from a distributor of printed guides to a technology company and consumer brand, management shared.
Kathy Ward, daughter of Bill Ward, will remain as executive chairman of the company and Brad Rome, currently vice president of sales and marketing, has been named president.
The company also shared all data collection and publishing will continue to be based on Canadian market transactional information gathered from multiple sources across Canada.
"Kathy, Brad and their talented team will be strong additions to Black Book," said Tom Cross, president of Black Book. "I look forward to working with them even more closely to serve our customers and further accelerate the growth of our business."
"Black Book is the perfect home for us and a natural fit," Ward said. "Today marks an exciting new era for our company and our customers — we are delighted to join forces with a true leader in the auto industry."
Coming off a year during which growth and acquisitions were a top priority, AutoCanada is continuing to expand with the announcement it will build an open-point Kia dealership in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
The dealer group announced this week it has signed a letter of intent with Kia Canada Inc., which will award the new open-point store, subject to the completion of requirements and conditions outlines by the OEM.
AutoCanada intends to operate the dealership out of a new facility, and construction is expected to begin in Q4 of this year, or the first quarter of 2016.
"We would like to thank Kia Canada for their continued confidence through the awarding to AutoCanada of the North Winnipeg Open Point, the second such open point awarded to AutoCanada by Kia. The addition of the Kia brand to our existing local platform will allow us to broaden our product offerings to our Winnipeg customer base," said Patrick Priestner, executive chair of AutoCanada.
"Open point dealerships, although they typically result in short term operating losses, are excellent investments as they do not incur the payment of goodwill, and thus we look forward to the contribution we can make to expanding the Kia brand in this community and to providing greater choice to the customer,” he concluded.
Editor’s Note: Stay tuned to Auto Remarketing Canada for more news on AutoCanada as the dealer group is set to release its 2014 earnings report on Friday.
AutoCanada Inc. announced Wednesday it has received approval from BMW Canada to purchase an 85-percent interest in the assets, including land and building, of Auto Boulevard St. Martin Inc. Auto Boulevard owns and operates BMW Laval and MINI Laval in Laval, Quebec.
The dealerships, which currently run out of a 134,566 square foot facility, include a 50-car BMW showroom, a 15-car MINI showroom, a 48-bay BMW service center, a 14-bay MINI service center, and a 16-bay body shop. Combined, the two franchises retailed 2,208 new and 680 used vehicles, 1,661 and 554, respectively, were BMWs.
“We are extremely fortunate to be partnering with Mr. Carmine D’Argenio, whose knowledge and experience with the prestigious and premium BMW and MINI brands in Canada is of the first order,” AutoCanada’s chairman and chief executive officer Patrick Priestner said, “and will be of great benefit to our BMW and MINI dealership operations and our current strong Canbec BMW dealership management team lead by Mr. Charles Dubé.”
With an expected closing transaction date of Nov. 27, AutoCanada will be entering into an agreement with D’Argenio, who is currently the majority owner of Auto Boulevard and who will retain the remaining ownership interest in the two dealerships as well as acquiring a 15 percent ownership interest in BMW Canbec and MINI Mont Royal from AutoCanada as part of the transaction. D’Argenio will also oversee operations of the four dealerships.
“We would like to thank BMW Canada and its employees for all of their hard work and assistance with this transaction,” Priestner continued, “and we look forward to providing our BMW and MINI customers with the customer service experience that these two legendary brands demand.”
The Canada-based vehicle history reports company that entered the reconditioning market just last year is broaching more new territory.
CarProof announced this morning it is entering the vehicle valuation field in full force.
The company officially announced it has bought Canadian Red Book and outlined plans to launch a vehicle valuation tool that uses actual retail and wholesale transaction data to provide VIN-specific analysis.
“This critical data is information that until now hasn’t been available and will completely change the way vehicles are valued and ultimately bought and sold in Canada,” company officials asserted.
The news was revealed at the company’s second annual Client Advisory Board Meeting last week in Muskoka, Ontario.
CarProof management said this latest move is part of the company’s goal to create next generation solutions to address automotive industry pain points across all market constituents.
“What really matters in vehicle valuation is what cars are selling for and we have that data,” said Paul Antony, president and chief executive officer of CarProof. “We’re entering into valuation because of the significant gaps in accuracy that exist right now. It’s a natural extension for CarProof, and we’re approaching it from the same angle as we do our vehicle history reports — we want to use real transactional data to produce the most accurate and comprehensive valuation tool available in Canada.”
As for the company’s plans for Canadian Red Book — a valuation brand in the government and insurance verticals — CarProof plans to materially expand the solution over the next year.
CarProof’s recent Client Advisory Board Meeting was held over three days and attendees included key dealer, auction, corporate, lender and insurance partners.
The event focused on plans for 2015, particularly CarProof’s move into the vehicle valuation market.
This announcement generated enthusiasm at the event: “CarProof is once again going to significantly improve the way we do business,” said Jeff Polo, general manager of Destination Toyota in Burnaby, B.C. “They are further empowering me to make informed buying and selling decisions.”
After its chairman passed away unexpectedly last week, Banco Santander announced this morning it has entered into an agreement to acquire Carfinco Financial Group Inc. for $298 million (CDN) in cash in a deal expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.
Per the agreement terms, each Carfinco shareholder will receive cash consideration of $11.25 for each common share of Carfinco representing total equity value.
Juan Rodriguez Inciarte, senior executive vice president and head of strategy at Santander, said: "We are excited to sign this agreement with Carfinco, which allows us to enter a market with good growth potential such as Canada, where we hope to reach agreements with other car manufacturers like those we have signed in other countries."
The cash consideration that Carfinco shareholders will receive under the arrangement represents a 32.12 percent premium to the 90-day volume-weighted average share price ending September 15, Carfinco reported.
Furthermore, Carfinco has also agreed to declare and pay a special dividend, which will be payable to shareholders of record on the closing date.
The company explained the amount of the special distribution will be determined closer to the closing date and is subject to necessary approvals.
"We are delighted with the value this all cash offer of $11.25 per share brings to our shareholders," said Tracy Graf, chief executive officer of Carfinco. "We look forward to becoming a division of Santander, one of the top banks in the world, and recognize the benefits their wealth of knowledge, experience and relationships in the auto finance industry will bring to the Canadian market."
Carfinco also shared it didn’t take the deal lightly.
The Carfinco board of directors formed a committee of independent directors “to review and evaluate the terms of the proposal from Santander and to oversee all aspects of the arrangement."
As part of the deal, certain executive officers of Carfinco, including the current president and CEO, the chief operating officer, the chief financial officer and vice president — account acquisition, will be re-investing a portion of their proceeds from the sale of their shares into the entity that will be acquiring Carfinco.
According to the companies’ statement, Graf and certain other key members of the management team will support Santander in the future growth of the company.
The momentum on the acquisition front continues to develop for Canada’s largest publicly traded dealer group.
AutoCanada just announced across-the-board financial growth in its second-quarter conference call last week, and it has already added to the mountain of acquisitions made in the first half of the year with this week’s addition of Tower Chrysler in Calgary.
Pat Priestner, the group’s chairman and chief executive officer, was thankful to the Rewucki family, who founded Tower Chrysler over forty years ago, for allowing AutoCanada to absorb the dealer into its group while maintaining Tower Chrysler’s reputation in the thriving area.
“Calgary is absolutely one of the best cities in Canada for automotive retail,” Priestner said, “and we hope to continue to expand upon our current eight-dealership platform in this city.”
And expand it has. AutoCanada has opened or acquired 12 dealerships so far this year, a trend that Priestner believes will continue.
“I think for the pipeline over the next two to three years, I really feel strongly, we know a lot of dealers in the country, and there are a lot of good dealers and good people, and I think more and more are looking at selling, including dealer groups,” Priestner said.
Even though the group has been focusing a lot on growth, the company’s CEO wanted to emphasize that they’re putting the value of quality before quantity.
“When you do potentially 15 acquisitions in a year, instead of two, four or six, or whatever, it probably takes us a few months longer to get the processes,” Priestner said. “And one of the things that we really look at at AutoCanada is it’s a retail business, and we think culture is a really big part of our business. And we’ve got so many great dealers with us and our head office people. We’ve got virtually no turnovers. We’re a little bit slower to hire; we don’t just run out and hire a lot of people.”
It’s that exact focus on company culture and taking the time to make sure things are done correctly that makes Tom Orysiuk, AutoCanada’s president, confident with their business decisions focusing on expansion.
“Virtually every acquisition I’m really, really happy with,” Orysiuk said. “I’m not overly fussed with any integration issues. I’d always like to see things go faster, and I try to temper my expectations a little bit better, but we’re making really good progress and processes put into place.”
And in the position where dealerships can be purchased in the $150,000 to $200,000 range, Priestner loves the opportunity to make short-term financial risks for the potential reward of long-term prosperity.
“I would trade those extra costs, if we can ever have quarters where we can do this many acquisitions, I’d be thrilled to have those costs in a short-term period like we had this one,” Priestner said.
When asked about the impact OEM recalls have had on the group’s business, which are pushing many to the limit in the U.S., the company’s president answered with a slight chuckle.
“From my viewpoint, it’s kind of funny, there seems to be a difference between the Canadian and the U.S. market,” Orysiuk said. “In the Canadian market there’s very little emphasis by the consumers on the recalls. Frankly, we haven’t seen a lot of activity. When there’s a problem, we deal with it. We work with our all our OEM problems and deal with them and make the customer happy and then move along. It really hasn’t impacted our business.”
For more information on the leading dealer groups in Canada, check out the most recent digital edition of Auto Remarketing Canada Digital Magazine.
AutoCanada gave an update today on what’s in its acquisition pipeline, revealing a series of purchases that have the potential to make the company over $400 million in extra annual revenue.
The company announced today that it has signed a purchase agreement for a dealer group, as well as purchase agreements for additional unrelated dealerships outside of the dealer group.
In total, AutoCanada has executed purchase agreements for eight dealerships, which the company expected to close at various times during the next 90 days.
“All such agreements are in different stages of progress with respect to due diligence, and all are subject to manufacturer approval which is anticipated, but is not assured,” company officials shared.
Last year, the combined dealerships in the acquisition process brought in a total of $422 million and retailed 5,936 new vehicles and 3,538 used vehicles.
Commenting on this development, Pat Priestner, chairman and CEO of AutoCanada, stated that, "The company is excited by the opportunity to add additional dealerships to the AutoCanada family, and we are working diligently with the various Manufacturers to obtain their approval, which we would anticipate over the coming four to six weeks. In addition to these eight dealerships, we continue to pursue additional opportunities which are in various stages of progress."
AutoCanada has a number of financing alternatives available and anticipates financing these acquisitions through either debt or the issuance of equity or a combination thereof, the company explained.
Editor’s Note: Stay tunes to Auto Remarketing Canada for AutoCanada’s first-quarter results, which the company plans to announce on May 9.
The Enterprise Rent-A-Car Canada Co. has broadened its reach in the rapidly growing car-sharing business.
The company revealed this week it has purchased Toronto-based AutoShare CarSharing Network Inc.
"This acquisition reflects our longtime commitment to offering sustainable transportation options throughout North America," said Ryan Johnson, assistant vice president overseeing Enterprise's CarShare, Rideshare and Zimride operations. "We are very excited and proud to become part of Toronto's car-sharing community, which AutoShare launched and has supported for more than 15 years."
In 1998, AutoShare was established as Toronto's first car-sharing organization, and today serves more than 12,000 local members.
And this isn’t Enterprise’s first foray into the car-sharing biz.
The company also offers Enterprise CarShare and Enterprise Rideshare, a leading carpooling and vanpooling program for commuters.
It likewise operates Zimride by Enterprise, an online ride-matching program that connects drivers and passengers.
The acquisition closed Wednesday, and the company has said the financial terms of the transaction will not be disclosed.
AutoShare will continue to operate under its current brand indefinitely, and will be owned by Enterprise Rent-A-Car Canada Co. and managed by its local Toronto division, with all current staff remaining on-board.
AutoShare will be served by Enterprise CarShare, as Enterprise already operates 542 car rental branch offices in Canada, with more than 130 offices in the Greater Toronto Area.
Enterprise explained it is position to run the car-sharing program with a “lower member-to-car ratio, a fuel-efficient fleet and a commitment to deliver well-maintained, clean and up-to-date vehicles.”
AutoCanada Inc. reported a successful Q3 last week, seeing a large profit increase and rises in used-car sales.
The dealership group announced a profit increase of 61.1 percent.
And revenue increased by a whopping 35.1 percent or $104.9 million to $403.5 million.
Commenting on the financial results for the three month period ended September 30, 2013, Pat Priestner, chairman and chief executive officer of AutoCanada Inc. said, "We are very pleased with the results of the third quarter of 2013, in which we exceeded the $400 million mark in quarterly revenue for the first time in company history. The strong growth during the quarter can be attributed to gross profit increases in all four of our business lines – new vehicles, used vehicles, finance and insurance, and parts, service and collision repair."
In fact, same store repair orders completed for the quarter were up 6.0 percent.
“Recent acquisitions have contributed to the above 30 percent increases in each of our four business lines during the quarter, however much of the growth can be attributed to same store revenue and gross profit increases of 19.9 percent and 18.5 percent, respectively, during the quarter,” he continued.
Part of this success also came from sales increases for both new and used vehicles.
Same store new vehicles retailed increased by 14.9 percent (5,108), and same store used vehicles retailed increased by 9.6 (2,550) percent.
As for what’s in store, Priestner commenting on new acquisitions, noting, "We are very pleased to be able to further execute upon the acquisition guidance we released earlier in the year with the recent additions of Courtesy Chrysler located in Calgary, Alberta, and Eastern Chrysler located in Winnipeg, Manitoba. These two stores are very well established and provide us with a strong foundation for building regional platforms in these two great cities."
Company management said it believes the dealership group is “well positioned” to add four to seven dealerships to its stores in the coming 18 months.
Canadian minister of finance Jim Flaherty confirmed this week that the government has made strides to move General Motors towards private sector ownership.
Canada GEN Investment Corp. — a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Canada Development Investment Corp., who holds Canada's interest in GM — has sold 30 million shares of common stock of General Motors Co. to BofA Merrill Lynch and RBC Capital Markets in an unregistered block trade.
Explaining the reasoning behind the deal, Flaherty said, "As we said from the start, our investment in GM was always meant to be temporary as we worked to maximize the return to Canadian taxpayers.
"We do not believe that any government should be a shareholder of a private corporation for an indefinite period of time. The Government of Canada is committed to exiting from ownership of GM as quickly as feasible, while maximizing the return for Canadian taxpayers, as we demonstrated today," he continued.
With completion of this sale, Canada GEN now holds 110,084,746 shares of GM common stock and 16,101,695 shares of GM Series A Preferred Stock, officials said.
Officials explained that further details about the sale will be made available when Canada GEN reports its trade with U.S. and Canadian securities regulators in the next several days.
"In the worst of the global recession, we took the necessary action to protect Canadian jobs and communities with a coordinated investment in GM and Chrysler, along with the Ontario and U.S. governments," said Flaherty. "The value of this investment can be seen in the jobs and companies saved and tax bases preserved."
