INVESTIGATION
WHICH CAR DEALER WILL BE BOUGHT NEXT? WILL CAZOO STRIKE NEXT IN THE BIG CAR DEALER SHOPPING SPREE? AND WHICH GROUP WILL BE THE TARGET?
Constellation won’t be happy with their 20 per cent stake; they’ll now want it all. Industry commentator 06 | CarDealerMag.co.uk
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by James Baggott @CarDealerEd
n this great used car chess game, it appears to be a case of not if another dealer group will be bought but when. Cinch owner Constellation Automotive Group has shown its hand first and after swooping on Marshall Motor Group for £325m has taken a significant stake in Lookers. But with Cazoo’s share price free-falling in the States – down 52 per cent in six months – and the Peter Waddell-backed Carzam looking to gain market share, could there be more big deals on the horizon? Industry insiders certainly seem to think so. The private equity-backed Constellation – which also owns BCA, We Buy Any Car and European used car marketplace CarNext – used clever tactics to snap up its franchise dealer group prizes. For the Marshall deal, it went straight to the group’s biggest shareholder, the Marshall family, and bought 64 per cent of the group’s shares. That deal has triggered its exit from the stock market and it’s currently in the process of taking it private. For the Lookers stake, it used similar family tactics, heading for former board member Tony Bramall. Constellation offered the octogenarian industry veteran 102p per share for his 78m holding, which he’s held since 2006, bagging a handy blocking stake in any rivals snapping Lookers up while it deals with the Marshall takeover. ‘Constellation won’t be happy with their 20 per cent stake; they’ll now want it all,’ one industry commentator told Car Dealer. ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if they make an offer for the whole group within weeks. There’s no point only having 20 per cent – you can’t change anything or call any shots.’ The stake in Lookers, which is emerging from several years of crisis, took the industry by surprise. However, it was clear something was afoot the week before, as the share price rocketed. ‘There’s a deal happening, Lookers is going to be bought,’ one leading car dealer texted
