GREENWICH, CT – Vanguard Dealers Services, a portfolio company of Southfield Capital, announced an investment in Dealership Development Inc. (“DDI” or “the Company”), a leading regional agent of finance and insurance (“F&I”) products and services to automobile dealerships in the Midwest. Senior management invested alongside Vanguard and will continue in their operational roles.
DDI, located in Barrington, IL, offers a comprehensive suite of third party vehicle service contracts and consulting services focused on enhancing dealership profitability. The Company has a long history of delivering best-in-class income development, sales training, compliance, product design, and recruiting to F&I departments throughout the Midwest.
“We are very excited about our new partnership with DDI. We have a tremendous amount of respect for the value that DDI provides to its customers and the brand they created in the Midwest region. Through this transaction we will gain a talented senior management team in Pat Becker and Gene Storm, a complementary service offering, and further our pursuit to become the nation’s preeminent provider of F&I products.” said Jim Polley, CEO of Vanguard.
Pat Becker, CEO of DDI, commented on the partnership “We are excited to join the Vanguard team. Their organization, led by Jim Polley, is an impressive group. By leveraging our collective best practices and investing in additional infrastructure, we can deliver an enhanced service offering. We believe this partnership will create significant value for our customers and position us for further growth.”
East West Bank provided the senior debt financing and Fidus Investment Corporation provided the subordinated debt financing. Finn Dixon & Herling acted as legal advisor to Vanguard.
About Vanguard
Headquartered in Fairfield, NJ, Vanguard Dealers Services is a premier agent and administrator of F&I products and services to automobile dealers nationwide. Vanguard offers a full suite of proprietary and third party auto extended warranty products, F&I consulting and reinsurance services focused on enhancing dealership profitability. Vanguard’s value-added services include, F&I training, compensation plan development, dealer incentive management, compliance review, sales strategy and F&I specialist staffing
About Southfield Capital
Southfield Capital is a private equity firm that invests in exceptional, growing companies in the lower middle market. The firm makes control investments in North American companies generating $4 - 12 million in EBITDA with proven business models, attractive growth and profitability trends, and strong leadership. For more information, please visit www.southfieldcapital.com.
Contact:
Andy Cook, Partner
Southfield Capital
acook@southfieldcapital.com
(203) 813-4100
