 | |
Type of site | Automotive Content / Ecommerce |
|---|---|
| Founded | June 27, 1998 [1] |
| Headquarters | |
| Parent | Internet Brands |
| URL | CarsDirect.com |
| Advertising | Yes |
CarsDirect is an American online automotive research portal and car buying service based in El Segundo, California, that allows consumers to research, price, purchase, insure and finance a vehicle online. The company also provides lead generation and referral services to auto dealers.
CarsDirect was founded in 1998 by Scott Painter, launched from the business incubator Idealab. It was the first company to sell vehicles online directly to consumers, rather than referring consumers to brick-and-mortar dealers. [2]
CarsDirect first registered for an initial public offering in a May 2000 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; however, it withdrew its registration in December of that year citing "unfavorable conditions in the public equity market." [3]
In 2004, the firm began to expand into other markets, and subsequently changed its name to Internet Brands in 2005. [4]
In June 2014, the company announced that it had been acquired by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) for $1.1 Billion. [5]
A grey market or dark market is the trade of a commodity through distribution channels that are not authorized by the original manufacturer or trade mark proprietor. Grey market products are products traded outside the authorized manufacturer's channel.
KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global investment company that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and, through its strategic partners, hedge funds. As of December 31, 2023, the firm had completed more than 730 private equity investments in portfolio companies with approximately $710 billion of total enterprise value. As of December 31, 2023, assets under management (AUM) and fee paying assets under management (FPAUM) were $553 billion and $446 billion, respectively.
In the United States, a car dealership is a business that sells cars. A car dealership can either be a franchised dealership selling new and used cars, or a used car dealership, selling only used cars. In most cases, dealerships provide car maintenance and repair services as well as trade-in, leasing, and financing options for customers.
GE Capital was the financial services division of General Electric. Its various units were sold between 2013 and 2021, including the notable spin-off of the North American consumer finance division as Synchrony Financial. Ultimately, only one division of the company remained, GE Energy Financial Services, which was transferred to GE Vernova when General Electric was broken up.
GoDaddy Inc. is an American publicly traded Internet domain registry, domain registrar and web hosting company headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, and incorporated in Delaware. As of 2023, GoDaddy is the world's fifth largest web host by market share, with over 62 million registered domains. The company has around 21 million customers and over 6,900 employees worldwide.
WebMD is an American corporation which publishes online news and information about human health and well-being. The WebMD website also includes information about drugs and is an important healthcare information website and the most popular consumer-oriented health site.
Avast Software s.r.o. is a Czech multinational cybersecurity software company headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic, that researches and develops computer security software, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Avast has more than 435 million monthly active users and the second largest market share among anti-malware application vendors worldwide as of April 2020. The company has approximately 1,700 employees across its 25 offices worldwide. In July 2021, NortonLifeLock, an American cybersecurity company, announced that it was in talks to merge with Avast Software. In August 2021, Avast's board of directors agreed to an offer of US$8 billion.
A car dealership, or car dealer, is a business that sells new or used cars, at the retail level, based on a dealership contract with an automaker or its sales subsidiary. Car dealerships also often sell spare parts and automotive maintenance services.
Coty Inc. is an American multinational beauty company founded in 1904 by François Coty. With its subsidiaries, it develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes fragrances, cosmetics, skin care, nail care, and both professional and retail hair care products. Coty owns around 40 brands as of 2024.
MH Sub I, LLC, doing business as Internet Brands, is a digital media, marketing services, and software company based in El Segundo, California, United States, that operates online media, community, e-commerce, and SaaS businesses in vertical markets.
Auto Trader Group plc, commonly known as Auto Trader, is a British automotive online marketplace and classified advertising business. Auto Trader is listed on the London Stock Exchange trading under the ticker symbol AUTO, and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
Edmunds.com Inc. is an American online resource for automotive inventory and information, including expert car reviews based on testing at the company's private facility. The company is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and maintains an office in downtown Detroit, Michigan. After making a minority investment, Carmax purchased the whole company at an enterprise value of $404 million in 2021.
A used car, a pre-owned vehicle, or a secondhand car, is a vehicle that has previously had one or more retail owners. Used cars are sold through a variety of outlets, including franchise and independent car dealers, rental car companies, buy here pay here dealerships, leasing offices, auctions, and private party sales. Some car retailers offer "no-haggle prices," "certified" used cars, and extended service plans or warranties.
eToys.com was a retail website that sold toys via the Internet. It was established by a startup company of the same name on November 3, 1997. After an initial public offering on January 4, 1999, the company quickly shot up in value, becoming emblematic of the dot-com bubble. The company went bankrupt on April 1, 2001, and shut down soon thereafter. The etoys.com domain went through a number of changes of ownership afterwards, and has been owned by Toys "R" Us since February 2009.
The Bountiful Company is an American dietary supplements company. It is owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, which sold most of the company's brands to Nestlé in 2021.
Rakuten.com/shop was an e-commerce marketplace based in San Mateo, California. Previously known as Buy.com, it was founded in 1997 by Scott Blum. In 2010, it was purchased by Japanese company Rakuten, and rebranded as Rakuten.com. This business was shut down by Rakuten in 2020.
Publicly traded private equity refers to an investment firm or investment vehicle, which makes investments conforming to one of the various private equity strategies, and is listed on a public stock exchange.
Jamjar.com, also known as Jamjar, is an online car buying comparison service. The Jamjar web domain and name were acquired by motoring business Grapevine Europe Ltd in 2015. Prior to Grapevine's acquisition, the Jamjarcars brand was owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland Group and, later, Lombard Vehicle Management. Under RBS, the company was an online car leasing company, established in 2000 as jamjar.com and operated in conjunction with Dixon Motor Holdings. After Dixon Motor Holdings was put into administration in 2007 the Jamjar business changed to a car finance brokerage, providing loans from Lombard Vehicle Management. Jamjarcars ceased providing new leases in September 2009.
Rhône Group is a global private equity firm with approximately $11 billion of assets under management, specializing in mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, and partnerships with particular focus on European and trans-Atlantic investments. Rhône also offers financial advisory services, strategic alliances, joint partnerships, and business valuation services. Rhone Group was listed in 2013 to 2014 by Preqin as the 'Most Consistent Performing Private Equity Fund Manager' based on both its multiple and IRR of all 3 funds in the top quartile ranking.
Latitude Financial Services is an Australian financial services company with headquarters in Melbourne, Victoria, also doing business in New Zealand under the name Gem Finance. Latitude’s core business is in consumer finance through a variety of services including secured and unsecured personal loans, credit cards, car loans and interest free retail finance. As of 2018 it had around a 6% share of Australia’s personal lending market, making it the biggest non-bank lender of consumer credit in Australia.