According to some, 2015 has been a slow year for collision industry consolidation. Of course, 2014 was a landmark year for consolidation. So far in 2015 consolidation has continued, but at a slightly slower pace. With only 12 full weeks left until the end of the year, I thought it would be good to take stock of what has transpired in North America this year.
Recent Collision Industry Consolidation
A few months back I took a deeper look at how consolidation in the collision industry impacts your business. I also later discussed what is currently driving the consolidation wave. While 2014 was a hallmark year, 2015 has continued to be an active year for acquisitions in the collision industry. Of the Big Four, ABRA has taken a clear lead in terms of the number of locations acquired. In May ABRA announced the acquisition of Keenan Auto Body with 12 locations in Pennsylvania and Delaware. In June ABRA announced the acquisition of Kadel’s Auto Body with 23 locations in the Pacific Northwest. Then just weeks ago in September ABRA announced yet another acquisition of Lehman’s Garage with six locations in Minnesota. In total, ABRA acquired 41 locations in three major transactions.
Service King has been active as well. At the beginning of the year they acquired Grand Sport Auto Body with eight locations in the Philadelphia area. In late February Service King acquired Central Collision Centers with six locations in Chicago. In March Service King acquired Autobody USA with four locations in Southern California. In August, after a number of one-off acquisitions nationwide, Service King acquired Riverdale Body Shop with eight locations in Chicago. In total, Service King acquired 26 locations in four transactions.
Caliber and Boyd / Gerber have made fewer acquisitions in 2015. In the beginning of the year Caliber announced the acquisition of Craftsman Auto Body and Pohanka Collision Centers. These two companies operated 25 locations in Virginia and Maryland. But since the beginning of the year, the only major announcement by the company was the acquisition of Platinum/Apex/Alpine Collision Centers in Southern California.
Boyd / Gerber only made one sizable acquisition in 2015. In June the company acquired four locations in Utah. But the company also made a number of one-off acquisitions across both the US and Canada during the year.
Will Consolidation Continue in Collision Repair?
The industry will continue to consolidate. That is a certainty for a number of reasons.
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