A major acquisition is about to be made in the United Kingdom. The American AutoNation, a global distribution giant, is reportedly on the verge of buying the Inchcape group.
Born in the middle of the 19th century, this true British institution, initially a shipping company, today distributes the brands of the BMW, Volkswagen, Mercedes, Toyota and Jaguar Land Rover groups. This acquisition would concern 70 sites and 3,700 people.
According to the English media Sky News, the entry ticket for this acquisition would be 350 million pounds (408 million euros).
According to the 2022 ICDP ranking, the Inchcape group, which is present internationally in around forty countries, is in sixth place among European distributors. It sold overall 61,000 new cars and 48,000 used cars, not forgetting the import of 51,000 cars in different markets. It achieved a turnover of 4.9 billion euros.
For its part, AutoNation, which is based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is in second place among the top 150 American distributors. In 2022, it sold nearly 230,000 new vehicles and has a market capitalization of seven billion dollars. If this takeover is confirmed, it would give the American group the opportunity to set foot in Europe. The group has been led since 2021 by Mike Manley, former director of the Americas of Stellantis and former managing director of FCA.
This is not the first time that AutoNation has tried to establish itself on the Old Continent. In autumn 2023, he was in the running to take over another British retail giant, Pendragon. In the end, it was the American Lithia Motor, the third distributor in the United States, who got their hands on it.
This article is originally published on journalauto.com
