AUTODATA ACQUIRED BY SOLERA HOLDINGS

VEHICLE repair information aggregator Autodata has changed hands for £340 million ($A550.5m), sold to Texas-based conglomerate Solera Holdings that also owns smash repair software specialist Audatex plus a number of global automotive, home ownership and digital identity businesses.

Solera chairman and CEO Tony Aquila recognised the fact vehicles are being driven longer than ever before while becoming increasingly “technologically advanced and digitally sophisticated”,  meaning the service, maintenance and repair (SMR) industry “must be prepared to manage this evolution in mobility with the right mindset, equipment and training”.

Mr Aquila said more than 54 transactions occur between motorists and automotive businesses during a car’s lifetime and that one of Solera’s missions was to “digitise the vehicle ownership ecosystem”.

“Solera’s integration of Autodata will accelerate delivery of the data and software that the global SMR marketplace needs today, as well as the innovative technologies and solutions that the industry will need tomorrow.”

Autodata CEO Rod Williams added that motorists expect the people working on their cars to “not only understand every vehicle make and model, but also to provide a faster and more accurate service at highly competitive prices”.

He said the Solera acquisition will “amplify” the ability of Autodata to meet these and future needs while providing “access to Solera’s highly innovative mindset and forward-thinking solutions”.

Autodata Australia managing director Brett Engeman told SightGlass News he saw Solera’s acquisition of the parent company as “an extremely positive move for the business going forward”.

British-based Autodata was established in 1975 as a publisher of car repair manuals aimed at DIY and workshop mechanics and has evolved to become a cloud-based digital diagnostics and repair information platform covering more than 40,000 vehicle models across 136 brands and used by more than 90,000 workshops in 40 countries.

Previous owners, private equity firms Bowmark and Five Arrows Principal Investments, acquired Autodata from its founders for £143m in 2014.