Category

Mergers, Acquisitions, & Divestitures

---

June 22, 2020 Special Topics Valuation Issues

Valuation and M&A Trends in the Auto Dealer Industry

Shifting Out of Neutral

For this week’s blog post, we sat down with Kevin Nill of Haig Partners to discuss trends in the auto dealer industry and the recent release of their First Quarter 2020 Haig Report.  Haig Partners is a leading investment banking firm that focuses on buy/sell transactions in the auto dealer industry, along with other transportation segments.  As readers in this space are familiar, Haig Partners also publishes Blue Sky multiples for each of the auto manufacturers based on their observations and data from participating in transactions in this industry.

May 26, 2020 COVID-19 Coverage Public Auto Dealers

Q1 2020 Earnings Calls

COVID-19 Causes Declines in Q1, but Executives Maintain Optimism Going Forward

Auto dealers stock prices declined in the first quarter of 2020 following the broader market trend. Though many dealers saw year-over-year gains in sales and earnings in the first two months of the year, earnings calls focused on the coronavirus pandemic. Volumes have fallen across the country, though executives pointed to recent positive trends. Downturns have muddied the M&A market, and some companies don’t plan to rehire everyone that has been let go. Many praised the support of OEMs including significant incentives such as 0% financing. With dealership doors shuttered, many executives touted their online presence, though there was not a consensus on digital’s long-term place in the market.