ECP sold? Have a humidor

My goodness me, you aftermarket people are very, very clever indeed.

At the Groupauto conference on September 9 rumours circulated that Euro Car Parts was going to be sold to an American private equity firm, within eight weeks, for £250 million.

Then, on September 14, Unipart announced that it had sold a 50.1% controlling stake in its automotive division to Dutch private equity firm H2 for an undisclosed sum

I was impressed with the grapevine – it had got pretty close with its rumours, although no cigar was to be awarded.

I got in touch with Sukhpal Singh about it all and he said: “This is complete nonsense, these are rumours that are being spread by our competitors. Business is good at the moment, the market is really picking up.”

So, look in the current issue of CAT and you’ll find the ‘rumours’ at the bottom of the aftermarket indicator.

Turns out, of course, that the aftermarket grapevine came so close to the truth it deserves a whole humidor of Cuba’s finest, not just one cigar.

Today Euro Car Parts announced it was being sold to American aftermarket giant LKQ Corporation for £225 million.

LKQ might not be a private equity company, but it is American, it is Euro Car Parts that’s been sold within eight weeks and it’s near enough exactly the price that circulated at Groupauto.

Impressed? I’m amazed.