Genuine Parts Co. (GPC) has signed an agreement to acquire Alliance Automotive Group (AAG), a European distributor of vehicle parts, tools and workshop equipment, from private-equity funds managed by Blackstone and AAG’s co-founders.
The acquisition is valued at approximately $2 billion, including the repayment of AAG’s outstanding debt upon closing.
The transaction has been approved by the GPC board of directors and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017, subject to customary closing conditions and applicable regulatory approvals.
AAG is the second-largest parts-distribution platform in Europe, with a focus on light-vehicle and commercial-vehicle replacement parts.
Headquartered in London, AAG has 7,500 employees and more than 1,800 company-owned stores and affiliated outlets across France, the United Kingdom and Germany.
“AAG has a consistent track record of organic revenue and earnings growth supported by strategic investments based on a proven M&A strategy to gain scale, efficiencies and geographic coverage,” Genuine Parts Co. said in a news release.
AAG is expected to generate gross annual billings of approximately $2.3 billion, including supplier direct billings, or $1.7 billion of revenue on a U.S. GAAP basis in 2017.
“We are excited to combine with AAG and enter the European markets with critical scale and a leading market position in the automotive aftermarket,” said Paul Donahue, GPC president and CEO. “AAG is poised to contribute significant sales growth and earnings accretion to Genuine Parts Co. and also serves to enhance the GPC platform for long-term, sustainable expansion across the global automotive parts industry.
“AAG has a strong management team and a deep bench of talent, and our similar cultures and histories make this acquisition an excellent strategic fit. We are confident this business investment will create significant value for our shareholders, and we welcome the AAG team to the Genuine Parts family. We look forward to their future contributions to our ongoing success.”