May 7, 2020 — In an internal email this morning, Cox Automotive President and CEO Sandy Schwartz announced the company is implementing a series of cost-cutting moves that include furloughing more than 12,500 employees beginning May 17 due to the financial impact created by COVID-19. The furloughs will impact about 36% of Cox Automotive’s entire… Continue Reading
May 3, 2020 — In an SEC filing late last week, CDK Global revealed the terms of the sale of its digital marketing division to Ansira Partners. As suspected, the deal was not for much money. CDK is getting a $24 million note receivable from Ansira. There was a surprise, however. CDK is getting a… Continue Reading
May 1, 2020 — SiriusXM-owned Automatic Labs announced on its website it is shutting down operations on May 28, 2020, due to COVID-19. In a statement on its website, the company says, “With fewer consumers purchasing and leasing vehicles and drivers on the road, we unfortunately do not see a path forward for our business.… Continue Reading
April 22, 2020 — Ansira Partners this morning announced it has finalized the purchase of CDK Global Digital Marketing Business and is renaming it Sincro. including all advertising solutions and website services. The deal positions Ansira to expand its automotive business, specifically with General Motors, one of CDK’s top OEM clients. Ansira has had a… Continue Reading
April 14, 2020 — Online used-vehicle retailer Carvana share price jumped nearly 23% yesterday to $75.28 and is up nearly another $7 in early trading this morning. That’s a 228.6% increase from just over three weeks ago when its stock price hit its 52-week low of $22.91. Each of the eight public dealer group stocks…
April 7, 2020 — Add collision repair to the list of businesses that will be decimated by the COVID-19 virus over the next couple of months. Even though vehicle service and repair shops are deemed “essential businesses” in each state, the collision business likely will plummet as vehicles are staying parked in driveways due to… Continue Reading
March 19, 2020 — Earlier this week, the Asbury Automotive Group (ABG) filed an 8-K document with the SEC informing investors it “intends to continue to evaluate alternatives,” regarding its pending acquisition of 10 dealerships from the Park Place group in Texas. The announcement is not a surprise given what the entire country — and…
March 9, 2020 — The number of franchise new-vehicle dealerships involved in buy-sell transactions declined 6.7% in 2019 from 2018. The number of transactions dropped 11.1% over the same period. Despite the decline, 2019 was the third most active year — in both the number of rooftops and transactions — over the last decade, based…
February 20, 2020 — Dealership technology firm CDK Global has signed an agreement to sell its website services and digital advertising assets to Ansira Partners, a subsidiary of Advent International. The deal is expected to close in the next few months. Terms have not been disclosed as of yet. Ansira, founded in 1919, is a… Continue Reading
February 3, 2020 — A month into the new year and there have been seven investments and acquisitions announced with at least one more expected in the next several days in the auto retail vendor space. The January activity continues the pace set in 2019 in which more than 70 acquisitions and investments were transacted.…