Vehicle info firm Autodata has been acquired by Texas-based software company Solera Holdings Inc. The transaction amount is reported to be £340m.
Solera acquired the firm from private equity firms Bowmonk Capital and Five Arrows who in turn bought the company for a reported £143m through a competitive auction in 2014.
The Texan firm already owns Carweb which is the company behind E3 Technical, one of the other vehicle info services in the UK.
Founded in 1975, UK-based Autodata has evolved from publishing do-it-yourself manuals for car enthusiasts and garages, to delivering cloud-based diagnostics and repair info for professional technicians.
“Today’s motorists expect automotive service professionals not only to understand every vehicle make and model, but also to provide a faster and more accurate service at highly competitive prices,” said Rod Williams, CEO of Autodata. “Joining the Solera family will not only amplify Autodata’s ability to meet the growing needs of the industry, but will also provide our customers and partners with access to Solera’s highly innovative mindset and forward-thinking solutions.”
“Vehicles are not only being driven longer than ever before, but are becoming more technologically advanced and digitally sophisticated,” said Tony Aquila, Solera’s founder, Chairman and CEO. “The SMR industry must be prepared to manage this evolution in mobility with the right mindset, equipment and training. Solera’s integration of Autodata will accelerate delivery of the data and software that the global SMR marketplace needs today, as well as the innovative technologies and solutions that the industry will need tomorrow.”
Soldera Holdings also own Audatex the crash repair estimating system so I would assume they will use the technical data from Autodata to give better accurate insurance estimates
E3 Technical is just Haynes rebranded anyway. They were the UK seller of Haynes Pro which was of course Vivid.
Nothing to worry about. Haynes can take control directly now I assume
I heard a rumour this week that the Competition authority may well ask Solera to sell off CarweB or Autodata. It makes sense as they dominate the workshop data market. Wonder which they will sell?
Greg
So now Solera own autodata & e3 technical?
They are the only 2 mainstream workshop data providers available to garages.
Isn’t there a rule about one company having a monopoly?
OFT?
I am very concerned that prices will go up for my technical data without any real competition. I had a look at Haynespro which seems new to the UK. The data looks a bit standard European but is similar to E3. However E3 presents it much better and has registration number lookup. Also their helpdesk is second to none. Should we campaign to get the OFT to stop this monopoly as E3 and Autodata are the current dominant suppliers?