AUSTRALIAN software provider of solutions to the automotive parts and service industry Infomedia has announced it will buy US-based e-commerce auto parts platform SimplePart, substantially boosting its global reach and customer base.

Publicly listed Infomedia Ltd, based in Sydney but with more than 180,000 clients in 186 markets, will acquire 100 per cent of SimplePart for $US24.5 million plus an earn-out based on three-year targets of up to an additional $US20.5m.

SimplePart, centred in Atlanta, Georgia, designs, implements and manages consumer-facing e-commerce programs in the US and Canada for many of the world’s top car-makers to boost sales of OEM parts, accessories and service.

Infomedia CEO Jonathan Rubinsztein said it was “a very exciting acquisition” because automotive e-commerce was “a strategic extension of our core global offering.”

“SimplePart enables Infomedia to further penetrate the auto-maker parts ecosystem and transforms our presence in the Americas,” he said.

“SimplePart delivers a leading capability in auto-maker and dealer e-commerce solutions and uniquely positions Infomedia to provide our shared customer base with an expanded range of market-leading business-to-business and business-to-consumer parts, service and data insights solutions. With SimplePart, we can offer a total solution.”

Mr Rubinsztein said SimplePart was profitable, cash-flow generative and expanding its business in North America.

“Our opportunity is to support that growth trajectory and offer our combined customer base additional products and value adding Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions in all the regions in which Infomedia operates,” he said.

Mr Rubinsztein said his company was also looking for further expansion and “continues to assess further acquisition targets with a focus on assets that enhance its core parts, service and data insights offerings and extend its capabilities, open access to new customers and increase its reach in key geographic markets.”

SimplePart founder, Cole Getzler, and the company’s president, Michael Oki, will continue to run the business from its base in Atlanta.

Mr Getzler said the acquisition was a unique opportunity for SimplePart to partner with a global leader in parts and service software.

He said Infomedia shared SimplePart’s philosophy of “developing and delivering innovative, industry-leading fixed operation solutions.”

“We are looking forward to sharing our solutions globally, an opportunity every entrepreneur looks to pursue for the benefit of the business and the team,” Mr Getzler said.

SimplePart was founded in 2008 by Mr Getzler, a car enthusiast who devised a solution to find genuine restoration parts. It has evolved into a solutions platform that allows auto-makers and dealers to reach nearly nine million vehicle owners a month.

SimplePart’s e-commerce platform provides OEMs and dealer customers with a branded website, online store, and digital marketing support to power successful e-commerce programs.

It also includes sophisticated production systems that can catalogue complex car-maker data and provide extensive reporting and insights to increase aftersales revenue. These features are not commonly available with other e-commerce solutions.

Founded in 1987, Infomedia supplies online parts selling systems, sophisticated service selling systems, a range of publications, as well as data analysis and information research for automotive and lubricant industries.

By Neil Dowling