AutoTrader.com Agrees to Buy HomeNet Automotive

[Jeff Kershner]

AutoTrader.com Agrees to Purchase Auto Inventory Solutions Leader HomeNet Automotive





AutoTrader has been on a roll... AutoTrader.com buys vAuto, AutoTrader.com buys KBB. And now AutoTrader.com announced that they will be buying HomeNet before the end of the year.

The press release is after the jump.

What do you think of this purchase??






ATLANTA and WEST CHESTER, Pa., Dec. 1, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- AutoTrader.com, the Internet's ultimate automotive marketplace and consumer information website, has agreed to purchase HomeNet Automotive, a leading provider of online inventory management and merchandising solutions.

The purchase is expected to close by the end of the year.

The addition of HomeNet to the AutoTrader.com family of companies and brands provides AutoTrader.com with a best-in-class inventory management solution for the thousands of auto dealers who use AutoTrader.com to present their inventory of new, used and certified pre-owned (CPO) vehicles to online vehicle shoppers.

Founded in 1996, HomeNet's proprietary "Get. Edit. Deliver" technology has helped thousands of automotive dealers nationwide generate a high volume of leads and increase online vehicle sales.  HomeNet's signature solution, the Inventory Online (IOL) vehicle marketing suite, is an industry-leading vehicle inventory management and marketing system.

AutoTrader.com's purchase of HomeNet will bring a variety of benefits to dealers who post vehicles for sale on AutoTrader.com and to car shoppers who use AutoTrader.com to research and compare vehicles, find dealer specials, review inventory of cars for sale and select dealerships to visit.

For dealers, incorporating HomeNet's proprietary inventory management system into AutoTrader.com's dealer tools will allow for easier and faster inventory management and merchandising online.  Dealers will be able to upload their listings faster, make updates and adjustments to their listings more easily and overall enjoy more flexibility and control in presenting their inventory for sale on AutoTrader.com.

Consumers shopping for vehicles on AutoTrader.com will have access to better vehicle information, enhanced listings that include more photos and dealer comments, advanced search capabilities and more frequent updates and information about the cars they are shopping for and researching.

The agreement to purchase HomeNet is the third in a series of acquisitions AutoTrader.com has announced in recent months.  In September, AutoTrader.com announced the purchase of vAuto, the automotive retail industry's leading provider of advanced software tools for used vehicle management, pricing and inventory optimization.  Then, in October, AutoTrader.com announced its planned acquisition of Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com), one of the most recognized and influential brands in the automotive industry.

"We are always looking for opportunities to grow our company, organically or through acquisitions, in ways that will make AutoTrader.com even more valuable to the auto manufacturers and dealers who advertise on our site and to the 15-million-plus consumers who shop for vehicles on our site every month," said AutoTrader.com President and CEO Chip Perry.  "We were fortunate to be in a position to purchase vAuto and to agree to purchase Kelley Blue Book and HomeNet when these companies came available and we are excited about the value our combined companies can bring to the very competitive automotive shopping and marketing industries."

AutoTrader.com plans to operate HomeNet as an independent subsidiary.

Bob Landers, a 10-year AutoTrader.com veteran sales executive who was formerly vice president for AutoTrader.com's Southeast division, has been appointed general manager and vice president of HomeNet.  He will be the top executive at the company, replacing founder and former president and CEO Jesse Biter.  Landers will work directly with other leaders at HomeNet and be responsible for day-to-day operations and long-term growth at HomeNet.

About HomeNet Automotive, LLC: HomeNet Automotive helps the automobile industry save time and sell more vehicles. It is the leading provider of inventory merchandising, management, and marketing solutions, led by its flagship product, Inventory Online (IOL) Internet Marketing Suite. IOL is a web-based vehicle marketing solution that helps tens of thousands of automotive dealers to engage buyers online and bring them into the showroom by streamlining the process of converting raw vehicle data into consumer-friendly and emotional online ads. For more information, please email [email protected], visit http://www.homenetauto.com, or call (877) 738-3313

About AutoTrader.com

Atlanta-based AutoTrader.com, created in 1997, is the Internet's ultimate automotive marketplace and consumer information website. AutoTrader.com aggregates in a single location millions of new cars, used cars and certified pre-owned cars from thousands of auto dealers and private sellers and is a leading online resource for auto dealers, individuals and manufacturers to advertise and market their vehicles to in-market shoppers. The company also provides a robust suite of software tools for dealers and manufacturers to help them manage and market their vehicle inventory and display advertising on the Internet. AutoTrader.com continues to grow key business metrics, including revenue, profitability and site traffic. Today, AutoTrader.com attracts more than 15 million unique monthly visitors who utilize the site to review descriptions, photos and videos of vehicles for sale; research and compare vehicles; review pricing and specials; and read auto-related content like buying and selling tips and editorial coverage of major auto shows and automotive trends. AutoTrader.com operates two other auto marketing brands, AutoTraderClassics.com and AutoTraderLatino.com. AutoTrader.com also owns used vehicle management software company vAuto. AutoTrader.com is a majority-owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. Providence Equity Partners is a 25 percent owner of the company and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is also an investor. For more information, please visit www.autotrader.com.

 

[Chris (blog)]

Imagine just one cable company to order your TV from? It's going to be VERY expensive, just like it WILL become for car dealers to have a web presence. If you are a budding programmer and are building your own platform that can complete with Auto trader to keep prices down and competitive, this is your time to shine. How much should a dealership really have to payout monthly between all the different vendors before it's really not a profitable venture any more?

 

[Cargurrl]

Let the Autotrader bashing begin!

 

[Dan Morgan]

I agree with Chris. This can't be good on the cost side of things for dealers. Must be nice working for Autotrader though....

 

[Kevin Frye]

Wow, AutoTrader must have a ton of money to buy all of these companies, wonder where it came from?

 

[Rob Fontano (blog)]

@Kevin They found a few billion stuffed down behind the back seats of their reps cars while digging out the seat belts.

 

[Alex Snyder (blog)]

That's funny Rob

The word on the street is that all these purchases are being done for an IPO. Cox is leveraging AutoTrader.com to make up for some of their other medias that aren't doing too well.

What this means to the auto industry is anyone's guess. I prefer to think with passionate people remaining at the helms, like Dale Pollak, innovation won't decrease too much. But only time, non-compete clauses, and management changes will tell. It also depends on what Cox's end goal is. You don't want to be too risky when shooting for an IPO.

It will be interesting to see if a major product offering/integration occurs. With the right innovative minds there can be some extremely powerful data integrations between all the Cox automotive properties (don't forget Manheim is in there too).

The future of relationships between automotive dealers and the AutoTrader.com products is either going to be dark/stagnant or bright. It is really too early to tell, and it could be years before we know.

 

[dwhitemd]

They had been talking about this for a long time. Not sure how this will all play out for the dealers involved, but the posts and comments about concerns of additional costs to dealers certainly seemed warranted. Oh, one more thing... was there a typo regarding HomeNet? "provides AutoTrader.com with a best-in-class inventory management solution" - who says "best-in-class"?

 

[Eric Miltsch]

@alex - I'm with you on the product innovation side of things. These acquisitions aren't happening just so three segment leaders can simply place their names side-by-side under one roof...contrary to popular opinion & belief, there are some sharp minds behind the scenes & they have been watching & listening very closely.

The data capabilities & research resources between vAuto, KBB & HomeNet run deep.

Combine all three and the opportunities for innovative solutions for dealers & consumers are incredible.

Next year's conference season could start one of the biggest waves of new products & services. (Great stuff that could also help the industry prepare for an anticipated full recovery in the next couple of years.)

I'm looking forward to see the changes...

 

[LarryBruce]

Ok a question for the people commenting on this post. What was the last thing ATC built that was innovative?

If you're waiting to see the next wave of innovative products come out of this conglomoration, don't hold your breath.

The goal for ATC now, find ways to get to $3billion in revenues with a healty bottomline then IPO. Anyone want to guess where that will come from?

I could be wrong but not likely, I have history on my side.