Aramis Group - Acquisition of Onlinecars, the Austrian market
leader for refurbished vehicle sales
PRESS RELEASE
Arcueil, June
27, 2022
Aramis Group announces its acquisition
of Onlinecars,
the Austrian market
leader for refurbished vehicle sales
- Austria’s leading
independent distributor, selling more than 10,000 used
vehicles in 2021, with revenues of over €200
million and an EBITDA margin of over
3%
- Highly complementary
strategic and operational features with Aramis Group,
thanks in particular to Onlinecars’ dense sourcing network for
German brand vehicles and its refurbishing center
- Similar
entrepreneurial culture, focused on
satisfying customers’ needs and building employee engagement to
help drive strong and sustainable growth
-
Operation entirely
financed through an increase in the
credit lines made available to Aramis Group by Stellantis, which is
continuing to provide strong support for the Group’s
development
- Acquisition that will further
strengthen the strategy for market consolidation and acceleration
on the B2C refurbished car sales segment announced at the time of
the IPO, with the new combined structure to achieve
full-year revenues of close to €2 billion pro
forma in 2022
Aramis Group [Ticker: ARAMI – ISIN:
FR0014003U94], European leader for B2C online used car sales,
operating the Aramisauto, Cardoen, Clicars and CarSupermarket
brands in France, Belgium, Spain and the UK respectively, is
announcing its acquisition of Onlinecars, the Austrian market
leader for refurbished used vehicle sales.
Nicolas Chartier and Guillaume Paoli,
co-founders1 of Aramis
Group: “In line with the strategy presented at the time of
its IPO, Aramis Group is moving forward with its international
expansion through a commitment to acquire Onlinecars, the market
leader for refurbished vehicle sales in Austria. There will be
synergies on a number of levels between the companies, with this
operation helping in particular further extend the selection of
vehicles offered by Aramis Group. We would like to welcome on board
Onlinecars’ teams, its founder Peter Marolin and its co-director
Thomas Lang, who we have known for a long time and who we share the
same passion with for the automotive sector and the same
outstanding customer focus. With this operation, Aramis Group is
consolidating its leading position in Europe and taking a further
step towards achieving its ambition to become Europe’s preferred
platform for buying used cars online.”
Peter Marolin, Onlinecars
founder: “Joining a major listed group, which is itself
owned by one of the world’s largest auto manufacturers, marks the
start of a fascinating new chapter for Onlinecars. This business
combination is founded on a real entrepreneurial compatibility,
characterized by a shared vision of our markets' potential, a
desire to grow by effectively satisfying our customers, and above
all a commitment to sharing and learning each day through the best
practices built up by each company. It is with a clear vision for
the future that we will be working together, with Nicolas Chartier
and Guillaume Paoli, to ensure the quick and successful integration
of Onlinecars within Aramis Group with a long-term focus, in order
to maximize our potential and contribute to our European
ambition”.
Highly complementary operational
features around shared ambitions
Following on from Spain, Belgium and the UK,
Aramis Group is continuing to move forward with its European
expansion by conquering the Austrian market. Anchored in Central
Europe, it will enable Aramis Group to ramp up its expansion in
this strategic region.
Founded in 2005 by Peter Marolin, Onlinecars has
a leading position in Austria for B2C online used car sales.
Supported by a solid business model, the company generated more
than €200 million of revenues in 2021, combined with a positive
EBITDA margin of over 3%. The company is structured around a web
platform, a refurbishing center and three customer centers. Its
site attracts 150,000 visitors on average each month and the
company has more than 80 staff.
The acquisition of Onlinecars will open up a
number of operational synergies with Aramis Group and extensive
opportunities for sharing experience, as achieved with the Group’s
previous acquisitions.
Aramis Group will enable Onlinecars to benefit
from its industrial flow management and refurbishing process
optimization expertise, as well as its know-how and the tools from
its technological and data platform. Alongside this, Onlinecars
will help consolidate the major network of suppliers and brands
built up by Aramis Group, which represents one of its many
competitive advantages.
Lastly, the two companies have highly compatible
cultures, with their customer focus and shared ambition for growth.
As a reminder, Aramis Group has a proven track record with
acquisitions, following the successful integration of Clicars
(Spain) in 2017, Cardoen (Belgium) in 2018 and
MotorDepot/CarSupermarket (UK) in 2021.
Acquisition conditions
Aramis Group has made a commitment, subject to
minor conditions precedent, particularly concerning antitrust
aspects, to acquire all of the capital of Onlinecars. The founder
and management team will continue to head up the company in order
to successfully implement the integration plan drawn up as agreed
with them. Earnout mechanisms have been put in place accordingly,
with a timeframe of the end of the 2024 calendar year.
Onlinecars has been valued on multiples
consistent with the target's profile and the current environment.
The transaction is fully financed through an increase in Aramis
Group’s credit lines with Stellantis, which will continue to be a
powerful support to Aramis Group's development, accompanying its
strategic international expansion and contributing to the financing
of its operations.
Considering the acquisition’s provisional
timeline, Onlinecars is expected to be consolidated by Aramis Group
from the start of its 2022-23 fiscal year2. Based on the business
guidance for the current fiscal year (i.e. organic revenues of over
€1.7 billion), pro forma for Onlinecars’ revenues, Aramis Group’s
future scope will move towards the milestone of €2 billion of
revenues per year, generated in five European countries.
Rothschild was Aramis Group's financial advisor
on this operation, with Hoche Avocats providing legal advice.
***
About Aramis Group
Aramis Group is the leading European B2C
platform for online used car sales, operating the Aramisauto,
Cardoen, Clicars and CarSupermarket brands, in France, Belgium,
Spain and the UK respectively. The Group is transforming the used
car market and harnessing digital technology to support customer
satisfaction with a fully vertically integrated business model. For
the first half of FY 2022, Aramis Group generated revenues of €873
million, sold more than 41,000 vehicles B2C, and recorded more than
40 million visits to its websites. At end-March 2022, the Group had
more than 1,800 employees, a network of 60 agencies and four
industrial refurbishing sites. Aramis Group is listed on Euronext
Paris Compartment A (Ticker: ARAMI – ISIN: FR0014003U94). For more
information, visit www.aramis.group.
Disclaimer
Certain information included in this press
release is not historical data but forward-looking statements.
These forwardlooking statements are based on current beliefs and
assumptions, including, but not limited to, assumptions about
current and future business strategies and the environment in which
Aramis Group operates, and involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results or
performance, or the results or other events, to be materially
different from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking
statements. These risks and uncertainties include those discussed
or identified in Chapter 3 “Risk Factors” of the Universal
Registration Document dated January 26, 2022, approved by the AMF
under number R. 22-004 and available on the Group’s website
(www.aramis.group) and on the AMF website (www.amf-france.org), and
in particular the risks identified under paragraphs 3.1.1 “Risks
related to general economic conditions and their trend”, 3.1.2
“Risks relating to trends in the automotive industry”, 3.2.1 “Risks
related to the procurement of used cars” and 3.2.2 “Risks related
to price changes on the used cars market”. These forward-looking
statements and information are not guarantees of future
performance. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date
of this press release. This press release does not contain or
constitute an offer of securities or an invitation or inducement to
invest in securities in France, the United States or any other
jurisdiction.
Investors contact
Alexandre LeroyHead of Investor
Relationsalexandre.leroy@aramis.group
+33 (0)6 58 80 50 24
Press contacts
Brunswickaramisgroup@brunswickgroup.comHugues
Boëton +33 (0)6 79 99 27 15Alexia Gachet +33 (0)6 33 06 55 93
1 Nicolas Chartier is Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer of the Company, and Guillaume Paoli is Deputy
Chief Executive Officer, based on a two-year rotation2 Aramis
Group’s fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30.
- Press release - ARAMIS GROUP - Acquisition of Onlinecars
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