US: Cox can buy Dealertrack if it sells inventory management unit

The latest move by the Department of Justice showed how crucial DealerSocket is to the Cox Automotive acquisition of Dealertrack Technologies being finalized.

In order to prevent Cox Automotive from holding an estimated 86 percent market share of that service segment, DOJ officials announced late on Tuesday that it will require Cox Automotive to divest Dealertrack’s full-featured inventory management solution business in order for Cox Automotive to acquire Dealertrack through an approximately $4 billion tender offer first revealed back in June.

The department’s Antitrust Division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia to block the proposed acquisition. At the same time, the department filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the competitive concerns alleged in the lawsuit.

“Cox’s proposed acquisition of Dealertrack would have allowed Cox to become the dominant inventory management solution provider in the United States,” Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer of the Antitrust Division said. “The divestiture will ensure that automotive dealerships in the United States continue to benefit from the competition that now exists among inventory management solution providers.”

Full content: Auto Remarketing

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.