Dave Cantin Group, a merger and acquisition advisor to retail auto groups, said this week it has sold off two units to Biltmore Automotive Services.
New York-based DCG said it divested its DCG Capital and Ownership Accelerator Program (OAP) units to Savannah, Georgia-based Biltmore. Terms were not disclosed.
The two units going to Biltmore advise first-time buyers of dealerships. Those units will be combined with Biltmore’s Path to Ownership Program, DCG said in a statement.
DCG, with the move, is concentrating “its focus on advising the nation’s top 500 dealership groups on growth strategies, platform management, acquisitions and divestitures,” President and CEO Dave Cantin said in the statement. “DCG Capital and OAP are important programs, and there’s no better home for them going forward than Biltmore.”
“DCG Capital and OAP are great fits for our boutique firm,” Tim Devine, a Biltmore partner, said in the statement. “The automakers are looking to companies like ours to help identify new, qualified dealers including minority and female candidates. We have a broad network of banks, lenders and firms we work with to help these buyers successfully identify and close on their first new car dealerships.”
DCG and Biltmore previously worked together to advise first-time buyers of auto dealers. The companies advised clients about negotiating with existing dealer principals, securing capital and fulfilling automaker requirements for franchise ownership. DCG said it and Biltmore helped the acquisition of more than 50 dealerships.
As part of the DCG-Biltmore deal, DCG Managing Director Jim Duffy is moving to Biltmore.
“It’s critical for the industry that great people get the support they need to become new dealers, and Biltmore will make sure that support exists,” Cantin said.
DCG’s divestiture of the two programs to Biltmore comes amid changes in the traditional vehicle sales model. In the U.S., independent franchises traditionally have been utilized to sell cars, trucks and SUVs to consumers. However, there have been strains on that system. Some automakers have moved to consolidate their dealership networks. Tesla Inc., the electric-car maker headed by Elon Musk, has tried to challenge the auto-franchise system via company-owned outlets, similar to Apple Inc. stores.
Also, many dealerships are family businesses. It can be difficult to keep such enterprises within a family going into the third generation.
In May, DCG said it has developed new artificial intelligence-powered software called Jump IQ to provide valuations for any new-vehicle franchise in the U.S. The consulting firm said at that time Jump IQ processes data related to more than 18,000 franchise dealerships.
DCG and Kaiser Associates, a consulting firm, released a report in July that some owners will be looking to sell because operating a dealership is getting harder with lower profit.
