John Eastham

AUTOPACT, fresh from acquiring the Bayford Group and Coastline BMW, is planning further purchases next year but has cooled any talk of a possible public listing.

Autopact CEO, John Eastham, speaking exclusively to GoAutoNews Premium, said seeking public listing would have benefits to the group but said “it is not imminent”.

“The wheels would have to be in motion for us to consider an IPO (initial public offer) but there are certainly no wheels in motion at the moment,” he said.

“But it is plausible that an IPO may be in our future.”

Mr Eastham was responding to a newspaper article that indicated Autopact (formerly Cricks Automotive Group) was preparing to go public.

“Basically, the article did not have much in the way of accuracy,” he said.

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Mr Eastham said he saw a listing as beneficial if and when its major shareholder – the private equity group Archer Capital – indicated it would sell its stake.

“A private equity holding, by its nature, is not necessarily a long-term holding,” he said.

“They would exit if we went to a listed company – that’s part of their business plan – but Garry (Crick) and myself, and this is important, will not be diluting our shareholding at all on any possible IPO and we would stay on in our current roles.

“In addition, all our dealerships have a direct equity shareholding. That is, all our dealer principals have a shareholding in the company and we’d ensure that an IPO does not change any of that.

“All the DPs would retain their equity in their own dealership. That makes us a bit unique from other dealerships.”

Asked what would prevent Autopact from going public, Mr Eastham said it was “nothing to do with any downward movement in the car market or stock market”.

“It is simply too early for us,” he said.

“These acquisitions (Bayford and Coastline) take us to about $1.4 billion in annual revenue and that’s about enough. It’s too early for us.”

When asked if that meant more acquisitions were in the pipeline, Mr Eastham said: “Yes.”

“There’s none in the short term. I think next year is likely.”

Bayford Ford Epping

Mr Eastham said the Australian automotive industry, as defined by a recent Deloitte review, showed dealer profitability was low.

“I see that as temporary and I see it as part of the ebbs and flows of our history over the decades, but it’s certainly at a low point and we’re under attack from a few more areas than usual,” he said in reference to government agency involvements.

Asked also if his company was considering broadening its region into other states, he said that the eastern states “are our primary focus”.

If it sought a public listing, Autopact would become Australia’s fifth listed automotive group after Automotive Holdings Group (AHG), AP Eagers, Motorcycle Holdings and Autosports Group.

By Neil Dowling