Carsales.com Ltd., an online marketplace in Australia, will buy the remaining 51% of Trader Interactive from Eurazeo and Goldman Sachs Asset Management to bring their holdings up to 100%.
The move to acquire Trader Interactive started when Carsales bought 49% of Trader Interactive in August 2021. The deal is expected to conclude in late Q3.
Trader Interactive, parent company of RV Trader and Statistical Surveys Inc., connects buyers and sellers in the RV, powersports, commercial vehicle, and heavy equipment industries through a portfolio of marketplaces that reach 13 million unique monthly visitors.
“I have worked with the Carsales leadership team over the last 12 months and I have been extremely impressed. We can see how compatible we are from a culture and strategy perspective,” Trader Interactive CEO Lori Stacey said. “The backing of Carsales, along with their domain expertise from their worldwide marketplace portfolio, will enable us to accelerate innovation across all of our verticals, while refining and improving both the buying and selling experiences for our consumers and dealers alike.”
Carsales.com Ltd. operates automotive, motorcycle and marine classifieds business in Australia and Encar, an automotive business in South Korea. Carsales wholly owns classifieds businesses in Mexico, Argentina and Chile and is a minority shareholder of webmotors in Brazil.
“The first year of ownership has been very successful and we have strong conviction in the quality of the Trader Interactive business, the management team and its growth opportunities,” Carsales CEO and Managing Director Cameron McIntyre said. “Culturally, there is strong alignment between the Carsales and Trader Interactive teams and we are excited to be working more closely together to execute on our strategic objectives.”
