News
Freshfields advises Autoscout24 on the financing of its acquisition of TRADER Corporation
Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) is representing AutoScout24, the leading pan-European online automotive market place, on the financing of its announced acquisition of TRADER Corporation (“TRADER Canada”) from Thoma Bravo.
In conjunction with this acquisition, funds affiliated with existing majority shareholder Hellman & Friedman (“H&F”) will make a meaningful incremental equity investment in AutoScout24. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2024.
TRADER Canada operates Canada's leading online automotive marketplaces, English-language AutoTrader.ca and French-language AutoHebdo.net, with 26 million monthly visits, more than 450,000 vehicle listings, and 5,000 dealer partners. Founded in 1975 and headquartered in Toronto, the company also provides several automotive dealer software solutions under the AutoSync brand and operates Dealertrack, the leading Canadian portal connecting automotive dealers and lenders, as well as Collateral Management Solutions, the primary provider of lien and registration services, recovery services, and insolvency management solutions to Canadian lenders.
AutoScout24 is the largest pan-European online car market, with over 2 million vehicle listings, around 30 million users per month and more than 43,000 dealer partners. As a comprehensive marketplace for mobility, AutoScout24 is making targeted investments in the growth areas of leasing, car subscriptions, electromobility and online car purchases. With this acquisition, AutoScout24 extends its presence outside of Europe and strengthens its position as a leading global online automotive marketplace.
The cross-border Freshfields team was led by leveraged finance and capital markets partners Alex Mitchell, Aled Batey and Haden Henderson and senior associate Terrence Ayres. Advice on the equity investment and shareholder arrangements is being provided by partners Tim Wilmot, Mark Brewer and Arend Von Riegen, together with principal associate, Anna Dominke and senior associate, Alex Ryan. Partners Uta Itzen and Ermelinda Spinelli are advising on antitrust matters. Counsel Greg Khan is advising on the hedging aspects of the transaction.
This latest acquisition carries on Freshfields’ long-standing relationship with AutoScout24 and H&F, having advised H&F on its original acquisition of AutoScout24 in 2020 and more recently advising H&F on their sale of certain minority stakes in TeamSystem.
