Driven Brands, a portfolio company of Roark Capital Group, has acquired Clairus Group, a provider of automotive glass replacement services, from Ridgemont Equity Partners.
Quebec-based Clairus Group is a provider of automotive glass distribution, replacement, and claims management services. Company-owned brands include UNIGLASS, VITRO PLUS, Go! Glass, Docteur du Pare-Brise, PH Vitres d’Autos, and Conversense.
The company, led by CEO Marc Desmarais, has 240 service locations, over 330 mobile locations, and 22 distribution centers. Clairus Group was formed in April 2018 by Ridgemont Equity Partners when it acquired Uniban Canada and PH Vitres d’Autos.
Roark Capital Group acquired Driven Brands from Harvest Partners in April 2015 and has now completed more than 30 add-on acquisitions for the company.
Driven Brands is the parent company of several North American automotive aftermarket brands including Meineke Car Care Centers (repair and maintenance services); Maaco, CARSTAR, and ABRA (paint and collision repair services); 1-800-Radiator & A/C (parts distribution); and Take 5 Oil Change (quick lubrication services). In total, Driven Brands has more than 2,800 automotive centers across North America that service approximately 8 million vehicles annually and generate more than $2.8 billion in revenue. Driven Brands is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The buy of Clarius provides Driven Brands with entry into the automotive glass repair sector. “We are thrilled to welcome the Clairus Group into the Driven Brands family. It’s a terrific platform offering great sought-after expertise,” said Jonathan Fitzpatrick, CEO of Driven Brands. “We are excited to add and invest in a new vertical in order to expand our family of brands and generate more growth not only in this market but in the rest of North America.”
Roark Capital Group invests in companies that have revenues from $20 million to $5 billion and EBITDA from $10 million to $500 million. Sectors of interest include franchised and multi-unit business models in the retail, restaurant, and service sectors; consumer products; consumer and business services; and environmental services. Roark is headquartered in Atlanta with an additional office in New York City.
In November 2018, Roark completed fundraising for its two newest funds, Roark Capital Partners V LP and Roark Capital Partners II Sidecar LP, with a total of $6.5 billion of capital commitments.
© 2019 Private Equity Professional | November 19, 2019