EDMONTON, AB, Sept. 26,
2022 /CNW/ - AutoCanada Inc. ("AutoCanada" or the
"Company") (TSX: ACQ), a multi-location North American automobile
dealership group, announced that it has acquired Auto Gallery of
Winnipeg, an independent used
vehicle dealership in Winnipeg,
Manitoba.
Operating for over 20 years serving Winnipeg and surrounding areas, Auto Gallery
is one of Manitoba's leading used
vehicle dealerships. Auto Gallery is a consistent winner of the Top
Choice Award for being the #1 Used Dealership in Canada for used car referrals and has been
recognized with numerous other awards including Consumer Choice
Awards for outstanding performance.
"The addition of Auto Gallery's high-quality used vehicle
operations further expands on our Used Digital Retail initiative –
a strategy to address the substantial opportunity in the Canadian
market with the dedicated sale of used vehicles across all
channels, including completely online," said Executive Chairman,
Paul Antony. "This acquisition also
aligns with our strategy of geographic diversification as it
expands our network of used dealerships, furthers our exposure into
the Manitoba market and provides a
central strategic logistics hub between Winnipeg and Ontario locations and our Western
locations."
Financial Highlights
The acquired dealership generates in excess of $15 million in annual revenue. The transaction
includes the acquisition of the underlying real estate and will be
funded from a drawdown of the Company's credit facility. The
transaction is expected to be accretive to 2022 earnings.
About AutoCanada
AutoCanada is a leading North American multi-location automobile
dealership group currently operating 81 franchised dealerships,
comprised of 28 brands, in eight provinces in Canada, as well as a group in Illinois, USA. AutoCanada currently sells
Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, FIAT, Alfa Romeo, Chevrolet, GMC,
Buick, Cadillac, Ford, Infiniti,
Nissan, Hyundai, Subaru, Audi, Volkswagen, Kia, Mazda,
Mercedes-Benz, BMW, MINI, Volvo, Toyota, Lincoln, Acura, Honda and Porsche branded
vehicles. Additionally, the Company's Canadian operations segment
currently operates three used vehicle dealerships supporting the
Used Digital Retail Division, the RightRide division operates 10
locations, and five stand-alone collision centres (within our group
of 20 collision centres). In 2021, our dealerships sold
approximately 86,000 vehicles and processed over 800,000 service
and collision repair orders in our 1,303 service bays generating
revenue in excess of $4 billion.
Additional information about AutoCanada Inc. is available at
www.sedar.com and the Company's website at www.autocan.ca.
Certain statements contained in this press release are
forward-looking statements and information (collectively,
"forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable
Canadian securities legislation. We hereby provide cautionary
statements identifying important factors that could cause our
actual results to differ materially from those projected in these
forward-looking statements. Any statements that express, or involve
discussions as to, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives,
assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always,
through the use of words or phrases such as "will likely result",
"are expected to", "will continue", "is anticipated", "projection",
"vision", "goals", "objective", "target", "schedules", "outlook",
"anticipate", "expect", "estimate", "could", "should", "plan",
"seek", "may", "intend", "likely", "will", "believe" and similar
expressions) are not historical facts and are forward looking. In
particular, this press release contains forward-looking statements
with respect to, among other things, future operating results of
the acquired business, the successful integration of such business
into AutoCanada's business, the development of the Company's Used
Digital Retail Division and future operating results of the
Company's Used Digital Retail Division.
The forward-looking statements included in this press release
are not guarantees of future performance and should not be unduly
relied upon. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements
are based on current expectations, estimates and projections that,
by their nature, forward-looking statements involve a number of
known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual
results to differ materially from those anticipated and described
in the forward-looking statements. These known and unknown risks
and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: future operating
results, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operations,
financial condition and liquidity and the duration of such impacts;
potential changes in the regulatory and legislative environment;
volatility in interest and tax rates; operating risks inherent in
the automotive retail industry; and changes in general economic
conditions including the capital and credit markets.
Forward-looking statements involve estimates and assumptions
and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors some of
which are beyond our control and difficult to predict. Accordingly,
actual results or outcomes may differ materially from those
expressed in the forward-looking statements. In particular, in
presenting its forward-looking statements, AutoCanada has made
assumptions respecting, among other things the future operating
results of the acquired business, the successful integration of
such business into AutoCanada's business, the development of the
Company's Used Digital Retail Initiative and the future operating
results of the Company's Used Digital Retail Division.
AutoCanada cautions that the foregoing list of assumptions,
risks and uncertainties is not exhaustive. The Company's Annual
Information Form and other documents filed with securities
regulatory authorities (accessible through the SEDAR website at
www.sedar.com) describe the risks, material assumptions and other
factors that could influence actual results and which are
incorporated herein by reference. The forward-looking statements
contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof
and AutoCanada assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise
them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be
required pursuant to applicable securities laws.
SOURCE AutoCanada Inc.