CAR Group

Last updated

CAR Group Limited
Formerlycarsales.com ltd
Company type Public company
ASX:  CAR
IndustryMedia, Internet, Online Classifieds and E-Commerce
Founded1997
FoundersGreg Roebuck
Wal Pisciotta
Headquarters Cremorne, Victoria, Australia
Area served
Australia
Brazil
Canada
Chile
China
Malaysia
New Zealand
South Korea
Thailand
United States
Key people
Cameron McIntyre (CEO)
Revenue$781 million (2023)
$278 million (2023)
Number of employees
1,800
Subsidiaries Carsales
SK Encar
Trader Interactive
WebMotors (70%)
Website www.cargroup.com

CAR Group Limited, formerly Carsales is a digital marketplace company. It operates primarily in Oceania, Asia and The Americas. It is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

Contents

Since its establishment in 1997, CAR Group has expanded its digital presence, focusing on innovative technology and advertising solutions in the automotive sales sector.

CAR Group has wholly owned digital marketplace businesses in Australia (Carsales), South Korea (Encar), the United States (Trader Interactive) and Chile (chileautos) in addition to being a majority shareholder of WebMotors in Brazil.

History

Carsales was founded by Greg Roebuck and Wal Pisciotta in Melbourne, Australia in 1997 with what was at the time just a small idea of moving print classified advertisements for motor vehicles onto the internet. [1]

In October 2005, ACP Magazines' online classified businesses; Carpoint.com.au, Boatpoint.com.au, Bikepoint.com.au, Ihub.com.au and statistic company Equipment Research Group were acquired. In return ACP's parent, Publishing & Broadcasting Limited, took a 41% stake in Carsales. [2] [3] In August 2007 Red Book was purchased. [4]

In 2009, Carsales was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. [5] In 2010, Quicksales was purchased. In March 2011, Nine Entertainment, as Publishing & Broadcasting Limited had become, sold its 49% shareholding in Carsales. [6]

In March 2013, a 20% stake in ICar Asia was purchased followed the next month by a 30% shareholding in WebMotors of Brazil from Banco Santander. [7] [8] In April 2023, it acquired a further 40% stake. [9]

In March 2014, a 49% share of SK Encar, Korea was purchased from SK C&C. [10] It purchased the other 51% in 2016. [11] In 2016 Soloautos of Mexico and Chileautos of Chile were purchased. [12] [13]

In 2021 a 49% stake in non-auto marketplace group Trader Interactive, United States was purchased. [14] In 2022 it acquired the remaining 51% stake. [15] In 2023 Carsales was renamed to CAR Group. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">News Corporation</span> American media company (1980–2013)

The original incarnation of News Corporation was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New York City. Prior to its split in 2013, it was the world's largest media company in terms of total assets and the world's fourth largest media group in terms of revenue, and News Corporation had become a media powerhouse since its inception, dominating the news, television, film, and print industries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KG Mobility</span> South Korean car manufacturer

The KG Mobility Corporation, abbreviated as KGM, is a South Korea–based automobile manufacturer. It traces its origins back to a manufacturer established in 1954. The company was named SsangYong Motor Company in 1988, following its acquisition by the chaebol SsangYong Group in 1986. Since then, SsangYong Motor was acquired successively by Daewoo Motors, SAIC Motor, and Mahindra & Mahindra. In 2022, the company was acquired by the KG Group and adopted its present name in March 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woolworths Group (Australia)</span> Australian multinational retail company

Woolworths Group Limited is an Australian multinational retail and finance company, primarily known for the operation of its retail chain Woolworths Supermarkets across Australia, Woolworths in New Zealand and its discount department store Big W. Headquartered in Bella Vista, Sydney, it is the largest company in Australia by revenue and number of employees, and the second-largest in New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Austereo</span>

Austereo was an Australian mass media company based in Melbourne. It was founded in 1980 by Paul Thompson, and operated 16 radio stations in metropolitan and regional Australia under the Today Network and Triple M brands. In 2011, the company's majority shareholder Village Roadshow sold its shareholding to Southern Cross Media Group, which began trading as Southern Cross Austereo from 21 July.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geely</span> Chinese automotive manufacturer

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd. (ZGH), commonly known as Geely, is a Chinese multinational automotive company, headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. The company is privately owned by Chinese entrepreneur Li Shufu. It was founded in 1986 and entered the automotive industry in 1997 with its subsidiary Geely Auto. As of 2023, the company ranks 225 in the 2023 Fortune Global 500 list of the world's largest companies.

Trader Corporation is a Canadian technology company based in Toronto specializing in classified automotive advertising. The company's flagship product is AutoTrader, an online marketplace for buying and selling new and used vehicles. The company is owned by private equity firm Thoma Bravo. The company was originally a part of Trader Classified Media, which was founded in 1987 by John MacBain. Trader Corporation’s current CEO and President is Sebastian Baldwin.

Auto Trader Group plc, commonly known as Auto Trader, is a British automotive online marketplace and classified advertising business. It enables the buying and selling of new and used vehicles by private sellers and trade retailers. Auto Trader is listed on the London Stock Exchange trading under the ticker symbol AUTO, and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Publishing and Broadcasting Limited</span> Australian media and gaming company

Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (PBL) was one of Australia's largest corporations. With interests primarily in media and gambling, for the entirety of its existence it was largely controlled by the Packer family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nine Entertainment</span> Australian media and entertainment company

Nine Entertainment is an Australian publicly listed mass media company with holdings in radio and television broadcasting, publishing and digital media. It uses Nine as its corporate branding and also prefers this usage to be used for the parent company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fairfax Media</span> Australian media company

Fairfax Media was a media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased The Sydney Morning Herald in 1841. The Fairfax family retained control of the business until late in the 20th century.

Australian National Industries was an Australian heavy engineering company with diverse range of holdings.

Consolidated Media Holdings (CMH) was an Australia investment company focused on subscription television.

Autotrader.com, Inc. is an American online marketplace for car buyers and sellers, founded in 1997. It aggregates new, used, and certified second-hand cars from dealers and private sellers. The site also provides users with automotive reviews, shopping advice, and comparison tools for car financing and insurance information.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Automotive industry in Australia</span> Car making industry in Australia

A substantial car industry was created in Australia in the 20th century through the opening of Australian plants by international manufacturers. The first major carmaker was Ford Australia and the first Australian-designed mass production car was manufactured by Holden in 1948. Australian manufacture of cars rose to a maximum of almost half a million in the 1970s and still exceeded 400,000 in 2004. Australia was best known for the design and production of 'large' sized passenger vehicles. By 2009 total production had fallen to around 175,000 and the Australian market was dominated by cars imported from Asia and Europe.

Catcha Group is an international Internet group founded by entrepreneur Patrick Grove. The Group controls a number of publicly listed and private media, new media, online classifieds and e-commerce businesses, and is one of the largest investors in the digital sector in emerging markets, notably ASEAN. Catcha Group and its related entities have completed over 50 investments either directly or indirectly, as sole, majority or minority shareholders.

Stratton Finance is one of Australia's largest car and asset finance brokers, with offices in most Australian capital cities and a national network of franchises.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qube Holdings</span> Australian logistics company

Qube Holdings is a diversified logistics and infrastructure company in Australia.

Jardine Motors Group, is a multi-national operator of franchised motorcar dealerships in the United Kingdom with international outlets in Hong Kong, Macau and China. Jardine Motors Group market their vehicles under a series of brands worldwide including Zung Fu, Lancaster and Scotthall, and the worldwide group net profit, for the year ended 30 April 2012, was US$61 Million, based on revenue of US$5.128 Billion.

Motorsport Network is an American media and technology company headquartered in Miami, Florida and London, UK. The company's proprietary brands, websites and OTT operations focus on motor racing and consumer automotive content serving and presenting content to audiences worldwide. The privately held business was founded in 2015 with the acquisition of Motorsport.com and now operates international digital, videogame, print, e-commerce & event businesses.

The Trading Post was a classified advertisement newspaper first published in Melbourne in 1966, named for the generic concept of a trading post. After changing hands a number of times, in 2004, the company was bought for $636 million by Telstra. In April 2009, it ceased printing altogether and moved to an online format only.

References

  1. Carsales.com promotes Cameron McIntyre to CEO as founder Greg Roebuck retires Mumbrella 20 January 2017
  2. Proposed combination of the online classified businesses of ACP and Carsales Publishing & Broadcasting Limited 3 October 2005
  3. Carsales.com.au Publishing & Broadcasting Limited 31 October 2005
  4. Carsales.com.au Limited - completed acquisition of Red Book Australian Competition & Consumer Commission 13 August 2009
  5. "Carsales float revved up for first trading day". The Australian .
  6. Nine unloads Carsales.com Australian Financial Review 6 March 2011
  7. ASX statement Carsales 14 March 2013
  8. Carsales to acquire 30 per cent of WebMotors Carsales 30 April 2013
  9. Carsales completes acquisition of further 40% of WebMotors Carsales 29 April 2023
  10. Carsales to acquire 49% of South Korea's number one online car classifieds website Carsales 6 March 2014
  11. Carsales spends $244 million to become full owner of South Korea's SKEncar Sydney Morning Herald 11 November 2017
  12. Carsales completes Mexican acquisition Sydney Morning Herald 5 October 2015
  13. Carsales pays $20m to take Chileautos majority stake Australian Financial Review 29 March 2016
  14. Carsales targets RVs, snowmobiles and trucks in $800m US deal Australian Financial Review 12 May 2021
  15. Carsales pounces on fast-growing US RV and truck trader Australian Financial Review 27 June 2022
  16. Change of company name and amended constitution Carsales 1 November 2023