Finance and insurance coverage supplier and administrator APCO Holdings on Jan. 3 purchased competitor Nationwide Auto Care, creating one of many trade’s largest suppliers.
Tony Wanderon, 60, who led Nationwide Auto Care as CEO, changed Scot Eisenfelder as CEO of APCO Holdings. Eisenfelder left APCO, the corporate mentioned.
Management from each corporations wouldn’t disclose the acquisition worth, however Wanderon instructed Automotive Information mixed income for the businesses is near $300 million.
Wanderon mentioned he and APCO President John Lee had been discussing methods to merge their corporations, “and at last, we had the chance this previous 12 months to have the ability to put that in play and shut immediately.”
“We will be one of many prime two or three suppliers within the nation on the dimension and scale that we’re immediately,” Wanderon added. “Our focus is de facto going to be pushed round including seller profitability and including worth to {our relationships} within the market and investing closely as we have to actually be rather more environment friendly as we transfer ahead and spend money on expertise with what we’re all having to cope with day by day.”
The mixed APCO and Nationwide Auto Care firm has about 800 workers and usually companies greater than 2,000 franchised dealerships in the US, Wanderon estimated. Finbarr O’Neill, govt chairman of APCO Holdings, mentioned the corporate had about 450 workers on the time of the merger. O’Neill began working with APCO’s board in 2017 and have become chairman in 2019. He mentioned APCO was actively trying to purchase since Might 2021.
The acquisition “completes our nationwide footprint, broadens our product choices, brings us an extra govt administration expertise that can assist us serve our sellers higher and proceed our progress,” O’Neill instructed Automotive Information.
One space of potential progress for Norcross, Ga.-based APCO would be the West Coast, similar to California, Arizona and Utah, mentioned Wanderon, noting there was not lots of overlap between the 2 corporations’ geographic footprints.
“There isn’t any state the place we’re taking a look at and saying, ‘You realize we’ve got overcapacity’ or ‘We do not need to develop that market anymore,’ ” he mentioned.
One other progress alternative can be offering extra insurance coverage merchandise designed particularly for electrical automobiles, Wanderon mentioned.
Nationwide Auto Care, of Westerville, Ohio, and Ponte Vedra Seashore, Fla., offers finance and insurance coverage merchandise, administration, consulting companies, coaching and advertising and marketing help. Its clients embrace automotive, RV and powersports sellers, credit score unions and monetary establishments. The corporate, based in 1984, has been increasing its enterprise by means of natural progress and strategic acquisitions. Since 2020, it has accomplished 21 acquisitions, bringing in new product strains, new areas and repair choices, in keeping with Lovell Minnick, a personal fairness agency that labored on the deal.
“M&A has been a giant piece of our progress,” Wanderon mentioned.
APCO, based in 1984, is a supplier and administrator of finance and insurance coverage merchandise. The corporate markets its merchandise utilizing its EasyCare, GWC Guarantee and MemberCare model names, together with different personal labels. The addition of Nationwide Auto Care provides a brand new powersports section to APCO.
APCO continues to be in a progress mode. Mentioned O’Neill: “We proceed to search for M&A alternatives.”