Industry consolidation continues as dealers descend on Las Vegas this week for annual meetings and conferences.

A little more than a month after first revealing the planned purchase, late on Tuesday afternoon DealerSocket announced the completion of its acquisition of Auto/Mate, emphasizing the move brings together two customer-service focused companies and offers dealers a comprehensive choice for an all-in-one, Dealer Management Systems (DMS) platform for their stores.

 “The combination of DealerSocket and Auto/Mate gives dealers a long-awaited and much-needed alternative for an integrated, connected platform of mission-critical software for dealerships,” said Sejal Pietrzak, chief executive officer and president of DealerSocket.

“Auto/Mate has built a reputation as a transformative, fast-growing DMS with an unmatched commitment to customer service,” Pietrzak continued. “As we look at our combined company, there are tremendous opportunities for innovation, while we maintain our strong focus on support. I am excited about this acquisition and what it represents for us, dealers, and the broader market.”

The company explained that integrating Auto/Mate’s DMS with DealerSocket’s current suite of software products for franchised dealers, including DealerSocket’s CRM, Inventory Management, Digital Retail, Equity Mining, and Digital Marketing / Websites, can offer franchise dealers a complete platform of software solutions.

DealerSocket added that it now will offer independent dealers two DMS options: DealerSocket’s iDMS and Auto/Mate DMS, both software solutions supporting the needs of the independent and buy-here, pay-here markets.

“Auto/Mate is thrilled to become part of DealerSocket. We have a shared mission of serving dealers with great software and customer service, and that makes this a winning combination for our customers, partners, and team members,” said Mike Esposito, president and chief executive officer of Auto/Mate.

“Our combined company will be a powerhouse in the market, offering dealers industry-leading service and software, and most importantly, continuing to be dedicated to our “By Car People, For Car People” motto,” Esposito continued in a news release. “We are excited about this new chapter for Auto/Mate and the industry.”

The combined company now supports more than 9,000 dealerships and well over 300,000 active users across its products. DealerSocket said it plans to invest significantly in seamless integrations with Auto/Mate. The roadmap includes important and valuable technology developments including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), and continuous improvements to user interfaces with a focus on making all aspects of the combined company’s software products even easier to learn and use, ultimately helping dealers sell more vehicles and increase profitability.

“Offering a full platform to the automotive industry has been DealerSocket’s vision for several years,” said Jonathan Ord, co-founder of DealerSocket. “Both DealerSocket and Auto/Mate share similar core values, and both have dedicated teams who have always cared deeply about dealership customers.”

DealerSocket’s other co-founder, Brad Perry, added, “After years in the making, it is terrific to finally see the combination of these two companies that are so focused on the needs of the dealer.”

DealerSocket and Auto/Mate will formally launch and celebrate their merger at the NADA 2020 show beginning on Friday. To learn more about the acquisition and combined company’s plans, dealers can visit both DealerSocket and Auto/Mate’s booths inside the Las Vegas Convention Center’s Central Hall.

“I believe we will look back years from now and realize that bringing together DealerSocket and Auto/Mate was one of the most impactful and game-changing combinations for dealers and the automotive software industry,” Pietrzak said.

Presidio Technology Partners served as the exclusive financial advisor to Auto/Mate, according to the news release.