Automotive technology entrepreneur Allen Dobbins appeared on the Auto Remarketing Podcast soon after announcing he was part of the investment AutoManager recently received from the Beekman Group, a private equity firm based in New York.
Along with describing the path to successful software development, the founder and former chief executive officer of Autostar Solutions and Sigma Payment Solutions discussed why private equity firms are so interested in the automotive industry nowadays.
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Beekman Group, a private equity firm based in New York focused on building companies in the healthcare, consumer and the business services sectors, now has a presence in the buy-here, pay-here industry.
This week, Beekman announced that the firm has completed an investment in AutoManager to support growth and a recapitalization of the company.
California-based AutoManager was founded in 1987 and is a provider of dealer management system (DMS) and website builder tools to independent dealerships in North America, providing a range of software modules used for managing dealerships such as inventory management, F&I, BHPH, CRM and accounting, as well as website and digital marketing solutions.
AutoManager recently launched a browser-based version of its DMS — DeskManager Online — which allows dealers to access their software from any device at any time.
In addition to DeskManager DMS, AutoManager offers website and digital marketing solutions through its WebManager toolkit, a mobile-first, responsive, and secure platform designed to provide independent dealerships with intuitive and robust tools for conducting online sales and marketing.
Beekman partnered in the transaction with company management and Beekman industry advisor, Allen Dobbins, who is the founder and former chief executive officer of Autostar Solutions and Sigma Payment Solutions and co-invested in the transaction.
“AutoManager has a talented and long-tenured team that has significant experience and insight into the DMS industry,” Beekman managing director Jim Clippard said in a news release.
“We saw a unique opportunity to support product development and other growth initiatives through an industry leading platform, and we are thrilled to be AutoManager’s capital partner going forward,” Clippard continued.
AutoManager CEO Kami Tafreshi added in the news release, “This investment is an important milestone for AutoManager, and we are thrilled to have Beekman as a partner for our next phase of growth. Our team has developed an impressive track record over many years of providing market leading tools and support to our dealership customers, and we look forward to building on this tradition with Beekman.
“We see significant opportunities in the industry and now have additional valuable resources to address them,” Tafreshi went on to say.
Tricolor has operated its vehicle retail and financing enterprise focused on the Hispanic market for the past 14 years in California and Texas.
Now with financial resources from one of the most notable investment firms in the country, Tricolor has its sights set on expanding nationwide.
On Thursday, Tricolor announced a $90 million convertible preferred equity investment from funds managed by BlackRock, which converts to a minority stake.
Executives said the new capital will be used to rapidly expand its mission-driven approach powered by artificial intelligence to the purchase and financing of high quality, affordable used vehicles for credit invisible Hispanics nationwide.
In addition, the company said the infusion of funds will help scale its recently launched software-as-a-service (SaaS) business unit, Tricolor Financial.
Tricolor reiterated that it uses artificial intelligence, nearly 14 years of proprietary customer insights and more than 22 million unique non-traditional credit attributes to provide financing for these low-income, credit invisible Hispanics.
To date, Tricolor — a U.S. Department of the Treasury certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) — has booked more than $1.5 billion in contracts.
“For decades, the deck has been stacked against low income or credit invisible Hispanics in the United States when it comes to the purchase and financing of a used vehicle,” Tricolor founder and chief executive officer Daniel Chu said in the news release.
“We’ve proven that our technology and teams can reverse this dynamic, helping people gain access to reliable, affordable transportation, Now, with this investment and the support of the BlackRock Funds, we can grow to help even more people improve their lives,” continued Chu, who added that while primarily located in Texas and California, Tricolor is planning rollouts into new states over the coming months.
Additionally, the company recently tapped veteran industry leader Stephanie Hanson to grow its Tricolor Financial business within the used-vehicle sector and into adjacent industries.
By using this investment to help fuel the growth of its SaaS offering, Tricolor said it can help other retailers and service providers more effectively meet the needs of low-income, credit invisible Hispanics in the United States.
Tricolor pointed out that according to the FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households, 31% of the U.S. Hispanic population has no or limited access to mainstream credit.
For more information about Tricolor, visit tricolor.com and tricolorholdings.com.
