Tag: Boyd

Boyd Acquires Assured and Other Acquisitions in the Automotive Aftermarket

Posted on by Brad Mewes

Last week was a busy week for acquisitions in the aftermarket. The Boyd Group acquired the largest collision repairer in Canada, Uni-Select (parent company of FinishMaster) expanded into the UK with the acquisition of The Parts Alliance, and Carl Icahn announced the acquisition of Precision Auto, adding 250 service, lube and carwash locations to his Read more about Boyd Acquires Assured and Other Acquisitions in the Automotive Aftermarket[…]

Collision M&A Consolidation Trends Update

Posted on by Brad Mewes

I’m writing this on my way back from Vancouver, Canada. I spent the past few days on site with a client focused on developing administrative SOPs to drive consistency in financial reporting. Then a quick meeting with an investment bank involved in the industry. I even took a sea plane over the harbor and got Read more about Collision M&A Consolidation Trends Update[…]

Nace 2016

I attended NACE 2016 and this is what I learned

Posted on by Brad Mewes

I spent last week at NACE in Anaheim California. For those of you unfamiliar with NACE, it is the only US industry trade show dedicated to the collision repair industry. In the past I have done video updates from the floor during the week, but this year I was so busy that I just couldn’t find Read more about I attended NACE 2016 and this is what I learned[…]

What’s up with Canada?

Posted on by Brad Mewes

There is a trend I have begun to notice recently.  The Canadians dominate the collision repair world. Dominate may be a bit of an overstretch, but Canadian firms own, operate or control some of the biggest names in the industry. Canadians also have more analysts covering the collision repair sector than any other country. Quick personal Read more about What’s up with Canada?[…]

Consolidation Trends Update: Q2 2016 – What Happened?

Posted on by Brad Mewes

An interesting thing happened in the North American collision repair market. While the four largest collision repairers have for some time stopped announcing even the largest recent acquisitions, the pace of consolidation has continued at a rabid pace.  Since the beginning of 2012, the four largest operators have more than tripled the number of locations Read more about Consolidation Trends Update: Q2 2016 – What Happened?[…]

Let’s Geek Out! What’s your ROIC and ROA?

Posted on by Brad Mewes

One of my favorite management truisms is “what is measured gets managed”. In our industry, it seems that daily there is a new metric to be managed. Whether it is cycle time, rental days, repair vs replace, severity, or refinish hours, this is an industry dominated by operational metrics. But for all of our focus Read more about Let’s Geek Out! What’s your ROIC and ROA?[…]

$6 Billion by 2020. Is that even possible???

Posted on by Brad Mewes

I’m back from Barcelona, having presented at IBIS (International Bodyshop Industry Symposium) on consolidation trends. IBIS is one of the marquee organizations, the only I know of that looks at the collision industry globally. It was a true honor to get in front of this group. So many fascinating presentations – email me to discuss Read more about $6 Billion by 2020. Is that even possible???[…]

Boyd’s Balance Sheet: What you need to know now.

Posted on by Brad Mewes

Warning: there are some serious accounting terms in this post! But they are terms that every business owner needs to know. When I work with clients as an outsourced CFO, I tend to spend a bit of time working through the balance sheet. A poorly managed balance sheet has the tendency to burn up cash, Read more about Boyd’s Balance Sheet: What you need to know now.[…]

This is how The Boyd Group generates millions of dollars of cash every year in Collision Repair in North America. It may not be what you think.

Posted on by Brad Mewes

While earning my MBA and while working as an equity analyst, I learned that to better understand the strength of a company, as well as the motivations of management, it is always best to look directly at the statement of cash flows. The cash flow statement tells the reader exactly how much money the business generates and exactly how management is investing and spending the money they make.

What I discovered when I read Boyd’s 2015 Income Statement

Posted on by Brad Mewes

At present, Boyd is the only publicly traded company collision repair company in North America. The other three major consolidators are privately held, owned by various private equity groups. The company trades as a unit trust on the Toronto Stock Exchange and has a market capitalization of well over a $1 billion – $1.33 billion Read more about What I discovered when I read Boyd’s 2015 Income Statement[…]

How Do You Stack Up? Comparing your business to the majors.

Posted on by Brad Mewes

In the past I have discussed the importance of developing a strategy and the implications consolidation has on your business. A big part of strategy, whether it is stand pat, buy or sell to understand what your competitors are up to. For this reason I am also often asked to present to industry groups about Read more about How Do You Stack Up? Comparing your business to the majors.[…]

Collision Industry Consolidation Trends: Q1 2016

Posted on by Brad Mewes

Consolidation in the collision industry continues to march forward at an astounding pace. The largest companies in the industry continue to aggressively grow through acquisitions, or by buying existing collision repair operators. And as these companies continue to aggressively expand we see continued consolidation in adjacent segments that sell into the industry, especially in paint Read more about Collision Industry Consolidation Trends: Q1 2016[…]

Will the Fed Raising Interest Rates Stop Industry Consolidation?

Posted on by Brad Mewes

It seems to be a forgone conclusion that the Federal Reserve will increase interest rates at their upcoming meeting. For years the Fed has repeatedly stated that they will likely raise rates in 2015. Now that December is upon us it appears the day of reckoning has arrived.

There is always a lot of consternation around rate changes, and this time around is no different. Effectively the Fed controls the price of money (interest rates) in an attempt to influence economic activity. The Fed lowers rates to spur economic activity and raises rates to slow it down. So a rate increase should be perceived as a generally positive event, an indication that economic activity is increasing. […]

2015 Acquisition Trends Update: The Floodgates Open

Posted on by Brad Mewes

The last four full weeks of the year are upon us. Only 33 days full working days left this year (or less depending on your holiday schedule). I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you have not already started to set your business plans in place for 2016 you are behind Read more about 2015 Acquisition Trends Update: The Floodgates Open[…]

Stuck behind the consolidation curve? Discover why industry consolidation impacts the price of your business.

Posted on by Brad Mewes

Consolidation has been going on in the industry in the U.S. since the 90s. There have been some major successes as well as some spectacular failures. The collision industry, and the entire automotive industry in general, is not the first industry to ever undergo consolidation. And it certainly will not be the last.

Consolidation has taken place for nearly two decades now. Nearly every current business owner in the collision industry “lived through” the first round of consolidation. Because of this “survivor bias” some feel that the current round of consolidation is destined to fail the way they believe the prior round did. […]

The Consolidation Curve

Posted on by Brad Mewes

The industry is consolidating. That statement probably comes as little surprise. The entire automotive aftermarket is consolidating. Dealers, tire vendors, parts distributors, paint distributors, software providers are all consolidating. But were you aware that industries tend to follow a predictable path of consolidation, referred to as the consolidation curve?

Big companies are acquiring smaller companies using affordable capital to grow. This growth creates economies of scale. And economies of scale allow larger companies to provide goods and services relatively more efficiently and at a lower cost than their smaller competitors.

Consolidation will continue because it is a virtuous cycle where success attracts additional investment that generates further business advantage. A growing consolidator will continue to acquire for two main reasons. […]

Collision Industry Consolidation Trends 2015

Posted on by Brad Mewes

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, […]

Private Equity in the Automotive Aftermarket

Posted on by Brad Mewes

Private equity firms are very active in the collision repair market, and the automotive aftermarket in general. The rapid growth of the large consolidators has resulted in very attractive investment returns for these groups, further increasing the interest of other private equity investors hoping to invest in the industry. Of the “Big Four” consolidators, ABRA, Caliber, and Service King are all majority owned by global private equity groups. Boyd is publicly traded and not private equity backed, but the President of a Canadian private equity firm sits on Boyd’s board of trustees. CARSTAR also is backed by private equity, as is MAACO. Fix Auto recently received debt funding from a large Canadian investment fund that is active in private company investments. Kadel’s, the Pacific Northwest MSO recently acquired by ABRA, was backed by a smaller private equity group. Joe Hudson’s in the Southeast recently brought on a private equity partner as well. Yet for as active as private equity groups are in the industry, these groups are not well understood. […]

Collision Repair Acquisition Pricing and Trends: The Boyd Group

Posted on by Brad Mewes

For the past few weeks we have been analyzing the results of the Boyd Group Income Fund (Boyd). Boyd is the largest operator of collision repair facilities in the world by number of locations, and one of the top four in terms of revenues. Boyd is also a serial acquirer of other collision and glass services businesses. Founded in 1990 as a single location in Winnipeg, Canada, Boyd has grown to be the largest provider of collision repair services almost exclusively via acquisition, or buying other collision repair businesses.

Previously I spoke about the importance of developing new core competencies to compete in the new era of collision repair. We also discussed at length how a business owner can leverage the tools of corporate finance to drive systematic growth. Boyd is an example of a company that has effectively done both to become a world leader in collision repair and glass repair services.

The price and terms of acquisitions are always a hotly discussed topic in any industry, collision repair is no exception. […]

Advanced KPIs: The Boyd Group

Posted on by Brad Mewes

Over the past few weeks we have taken an in-depth look at the Boyd Group Income Fund (Boyd) income statement, cash flow statement, and balance sheet. The purpose of this was to understand how a large MSO uses corporate finance to drive growth and to also explain how a company that reports a net loss in the millions of dollars actually generates millions of dollars of cash for shareholders (or, in Boyd’s case, the “unitholders”). We also discussed how Boyd is leveraging scale to drive increased profitability and sales growth.

This week, rather than just reviewing the financial statements as they are, we are going to complete a bit of financial analysis to derive certain KPIs that tell us more about how Boyd operates.  I will keep the analysis straightforward – no derivative equations I promise! […]

The Boyd Group: Understanding the Balance Sheet

Posted on by Brad Mewes

For the past few weeks we have been talking about The Boyd Group (“Boyd”), one of the largest collision and glass repair business in the world. Headquartered in Winnipeg, Canada, Boyd operates under three main trademarks; Boyd Auto Body and Glass in Canada, Gerber Collision and Glass in the U.S. and Gerber National Glass Services, a network of over 3,000 independently owned glass repair and replacement businesses across the U.S.  Boyd is the largest pure-play collision repair business in the world by number of locations, and one of the largest in terms of sales.

This week we are going to look at Boyd’s fiscal year 2014 Balance Sheet, or more formally the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position. The balance sheet, unfortunately, is one of the more overlooked financial statements in the industry. For many, it is a statement relegated to year-end tax planning and rarely, if ever, analyzed throughout the year. But understanding and managing a balance sheet is one of the core tenets of corporate finance.

Regardless if your goal is to grow, sell, or stand pat, balance sheet management is critical to your business. […]

The Boyd Group: Understanding the Cash Flow Statement

Posted on by Brad Mewes

Last week we discussed the Boyd Group Income Fund (“Boyd”), specifically the Fiscal Year 2014 Income Statement, and how it is both similar and different to the income statements of other operators in the industry. In 2014 Boyd generated an impressive $844 million in sales but reported a net loss of over $15 million. Many in the industry mistakenly assume that because the company operates at a net loss it is only able to remain in business through the benevolence of Wall Street banks. The reality is that Boyd, while operating at a net loss, generates substantial cash for shareholders. And when adjusting for certain accounting idiosyncrasies unique to the legal structure and location of the firm, the company generates a respectable profit. To understand how this is possible is to understand the difference between cash and accrual accounting*, and more generally, how to use corporate finance to drive systemic growth.

*See the footnote at the end of this article for a further explanation of cash vs. accrual accounting.

While Boyd generated a significant net loss on an annual basis, it also generated substantial cash from collision and glass operations. […]

The Boyd Group: Understanding the Income Statement

Posted on by Brad Mewes

Over the next few weeks we will be discussing the Boyd Group Income Fund (“Boyd”), one of the world’s largest collision repair operators. As of the date I’m writing this, Boyd owns and operates 340 collision repair facilities in North America under the names Boyd Autobody & Glass in Canada and Gerber Collision & Glass in the U.S. (amongst other co-branded names such as Champ’s Collision Centers and Craftmaster Auto Body). Boyd also has a significant retail auto glass operation in the U.S.  The company trades as a unit trust on the Toronto Stock Exchange and has an enterprise value of over a $1 billion (all values are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated). Enterprise value is the total value of the company, including net debt (total debt – cash) and equity.

Because Boyd is publicly traded, it is required to file quarterly and annual reports outlining the financial performance of the company. Every three months the company files a report that includes an income statement (also called a Statement of Profit/Loss or a profit and loss statement), a balance sheet (also called a Statement of Financial Position), and a statement of cash flows. It also includes a rather lengthy section of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements where management discusses the results along with numerous footnotes further explaining the results from operations. You can access Boyd’s recent financial reports on their investor relations website.

This week we are going to review the first of the three key three financial statements from the 2014 annual report and compare the results to some industry averages. […]

The Boyd Group: How does your business compare?

Posted on by Brad Mewes

Recently we discussed the importance of developing a strategy and the implications consolidation has on your business. A big part of developing a strategy, whether it is stand pat, buy or sell is understanding what your competitors are up to in the marketplace. I am often asked about the goings on of other large players in the industry.  It is good business to be aware of the goings on of key competitors in your marketplace. But many owners do not realize that much of this competitive intelligence they seek out is at their fingertips if they know where to look. For the next few weeks I will share one of my favorite sources of publicly available competitive intelligence with you.

Acquisitions, who acquired whom and the price paid for such acquisitions is always a topic of much speculation.  […]

Buy, Sell, or Hold: The State of the Industry Part II

Posted on by Brad Mewes

Long time readers of my posts notice two main themes running through my writings. The first is a focus on corporate finance and how to apply those topics to a collision repair business to better manage a business. The second is a focus on M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions) and how to be prepared to buy or sell a business.

Many readers inherently see the logic of the first topic. Understanding the tools mid to large sized business use to manage their business allows the reader to better manage their business, and be more successful as a result.

The second topic is sometimes met with less clarity. It often begs the question: why so much talk about buying and selling a business? […]

You won’t believe how much money Caliber made last year.

Posted on by Brad Mewes

Previously we spoke a bit about maximizing enterprise value vs. maximizing profit margins.

Many people in business fail to realize the distinction between the two concepts. If you maximize profitability, you maximize the value of your business, right?

Not always. In business everything is always a trade off. […]

How Private Equity Makes Millions in the Collision Industry

Posted on by Brad Mewes

We’ve talked a bit about the state of the industry and the Big 4, or the Big Boys as I sometimes call them (Boyd/Gerber, Caliber, Service King, ABRA). While they may be in the same business of fixing cars, the way they do things is systematically different.

(Editor’s Note: Keep an eye out for our upcoming article on the role of franchise based MSO’s and their impact on the industry.)

Perhaps the least understood difference is at the core of their business – how they actually make money for their shareholders.

Some people believe they give heavy discounts and make it up in volume. Others believe they don’t actually make money, and are barely holding on.

The reality is that these businesses are making millions upon millions of dollars. But not the way you may realize. […]

Profits Don’t Matter – Why it’s really all about cash flow.

Posted on by Brad Mewes

It’s all about profits, right? You can’t survive in this industry unless you mercilessly watch your profit margins. Parts margin, paint margin, labor margin, gross profit margin, overhead expenses, the list goes on and on.

But what if I told you that the big boys don’t care about their margins? […]

The State of the Industry (And why we’re all in trouble!).

Posted on by Brad Mewes

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past two years here’s a news flash – the industry is rapidly consolidating. Wall Street has arrived and they’re taking no prisoners. But what does that mean?

First it means that there are the “Big 4” – Caliber, ABRA, Service King, and Boyd/Gerber. You’ve probably heard of at least one of these guys, if not all of them.

They have hundreds of locations. They do hundreds of millions of dollars in sales a year. They are tied in with major insurance companies in a way you or I never will be. They’re financially backed by some of the largest most powerful financial institutions in the U.S. and Canada. […]