Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm specializing in financial and related business services companies, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire National Auto Care Corporation. NAC is a diversified, nationwide provider of automotive protection products. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
NAC, established in 1984 and acquired by Trivest Partners in 2012, is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. NAC is one of the longest operating providers of products such as vehicle service contracts, guaranteed asset protection, limited warranty, tire, wheel and a full suite of ancillary protection products nationwide.
Through its independent agents, NAC supports over 2,300 partners that distribute its products. These include automobile dealers, credit unions, financial services companies, recreational dealers and other strategic partners across North America. Additionally, the Company has unique value enhancing services that support its distributors with their branding, marketing and sales activities.
“NAC is the premier national market leader in developing innovative products that help protect consumers from a wide range of risks that can arise with Vehicle or Power Sport ownership,” said Trevor Rich, a Partner at LMP. “We look forward to partnering with President and CEO Tony Wanderon, who is an accomplished veteran and innovator in the automotive protection industry, and his experienced team at NAC, as our investment positions the Company to aggressively pursue acquisitions that complement its strong growth trajectory.”
NAC has invested significantly in the development and implementation of proprietary and third-party technology over the past four years, empowering its dealer and distributor partners with digital contract remittance and customized support services. In addition, the Company provides its distributor partners with a unique variety of support services and incentive programs that drive customer loyalty and strengthen their agency value.
“LMP has strong experience investing in service-oriented businesses across the finance and insurance value chain that will prove invaluable as NAC builds upon our flexible and customized solutions to support our agency distributor partners in driving sales and profitability,” said Wanderon. “We believe LMP’s expertise in identifying and negotiating strategic transactions will add significant value to our acquisition strategy.”
“Since our investment 6 years ago, NAC has grown to be one of the premier providers in the F&I space, and we are extremely proud of our partnership and investment in such an exciting company. We are confident that NAC and the management team are well positioned for continued growth and success through their partnership with LMP,” said Troy Templeton, Managing Partner at Trivest Partners.
LMP has a strong record of investing in and building fast-growing businesses across the insurance value chain, including J.S. Held, a specialty advisory firm providing property loss consulting, dispute resolution and construction and development services, and Worldwide Facilities, LLC, one of the largest wholesale insurance brokerage companies in the U.S.
Houlihan Lokey served as financial advisor to NAC and Trivest, and Sandler O’Neill was advisor to LMP. Madison Capital Funding LLC and NewStar Financial, Inc. are providing debt financing for the transaction.
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018.
About Lovell Minnick Partners LLC
Lovell Minnick Partners is a private equity firm with expertise in investing in the financial and related business services sectors. With offices in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and New York, Lovell Minnick provides developing companies with equity capital to support private company recapitalizations, leveraged buyouts, and pursue growth initiatives. Since its inception in 1999, Lovell Minnick Partners has raised $2 billion in committed capital and has completed investments in over 45 companies. Targeted investment areas include asset management, wealth management, investment product distribution, specialty finance, insurance brokerage and services, financial and insurance technology, and business services. For more information, please visit www.lmpartners.com.
About National Auto Care Corporation
National Auto Care Corp. provides F&I products, administration, consulting services, training and marketing support to independent agents, insurance companies, financial institutions, third-party administrators, and credit unions. National Auto Care focuses on increasing agent and dealer profitability by providing unique F&I products in protected markets. National Auto Care was recently named a Top Workplace in Central Ohio for the third year running and was honored with a 2018 Dealer’s Choice Platinum Award for F&I Products. For more information, visit nationalautocare.com.
About Trivest Partners
Trivest Partners is a private investment firm that focuses on partnering with founder/family owned businesses in the United States and Canada. Since its founding in 1981, Trivest has completed more than 250 transactions, totaling in excess of $6.0 billion in value. For additional information, please visit www.trivest.com.
