Driven Brands, Inc. the parent of Maaco Collision Repair & Auto Painting, Meineke Car Care Centers, Econo Lube N’ Tune, AutoQual, Aero Colours, Drive N Style and Tortal.net announced the addition of Harvest Partners as the new primary stakeholder in the Driven Brands recapitalization effort. Carousel Capital will remain invested at a modest level.
This recapitalization will take advantage of historically low interest rates to accelerate Driven Brands’ growth at a time when consumers and fleets are buying fewer new cars and extending the life of their vehicles with preventative maintenance, mechanical repairs, painting and body repairs, according to the company.
Kenneth D. Walker, Driven Brands chairman and CEO, who will continue to lead the management team of the company, said, "We have had a great relationship with Carousel Capital, which invested and supported Driven Brands’ impressive growth over the past three years. Harvest is now positioned with the resources and commitment to capitalize on our strong brands and the tremendous opportunities for growth and consolidation in our industry."
Ira D. Kleinman, senior managing director, who has been with Harvest since 1984, said, "Driven Brands leverages the growing foot traffic for its nationally recognized brands with a superior customer experience which leads to an increase in repeat business and referrals. Their marketing approach and operational technology provides them with a distinct advantage to sustain their growth as well as take business from their competitors. We look forward to supporting Ken and the team with the financial and strategic resources that will take Driven Brands to a higher level."
"We are very pleased with the performance of this investment and look forward to passing control over to Harvest Partners," said Jason C. Schmidly, managing partner of Carousel Capital. "During our tenure as primary owners, Driven Brands has more than doubled in size with the Maaco acquisition and Meineke has built an infrastructure over the past three years that is now delivering outstanding results. Ken Walker and his management team will continue to do an outstanding job increasing the Driven Brands footprint in the highly fragmented auto aftermarket while delivering industry leading organic growth."
Credit Suisse acted as financial advisor to Driven Brands in connection with the transaction. Legal advisors to Carousel Capital were K&L Gates LLP while Harvest Partners was advised by White & Case LLP.