NEW YORK, Sept. 16, 2024 – The Dave Cantin Group, a leading mergers and acquisitions advisory company to retail automotive groups and their owners, today announced that Biltmore Automotive Services has acquired two of DCG’s lines of business: DCG Capital and its innovative Ownership Accelerator Program (OAP). The parties began negotiating the deal during the 2024 National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers (NAMAD) conference.
“Biltmore is combining the DCG divisions that cater to first-time dealership buyers with its own Path to Ownership program for first-time buyers as DCG further concentrates its focus on advising the nation’s top 500 dealership groups on growth strategies, platform management, acquisitions and divestitures,” DCG President and CEO Dave Cantin said. “DCG Capital and OAP are important programs, and there’s no better home for them going forward than Biltmore.”
DCG and Biltmore have worked together to advise first-time auto dealers for more than three years. The DCG and Biltmore programs have guided non-owner professionals, from automotive and other industries, through the complex process of not only negotiating with existing dealer principals, but securing capital and also fulfilling stringent automotive manufacturer requirements for franchise ownership. These programs have helped dozens of professionals successfully acquire their first auto dealerships and have enabled the acquisitions of over fifty dealerships nationwide with gross transaction values totaling nearly half a billion dollars.
Tim Devine is a longtime automotive executive who worked at Hyundai Capital, Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. and Daimler Financial before becoming one of three partners at Savannah, Georgia-based Biltmore, which is highly focused on assisting first-time dealers from concept to completion of acquisitions. Biltmore also provides ongoing automotive expertise and financial services to dealer owners. Biltmore’s other partners are Ivan Rascanin and Frank O’Donnell.
Biltmore is integrating the DCG first-time-buyer divisions into its Path to Ownership program and DCG Managing Director Jim Duffy is moving to Biltmore. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“DCG Capital and OAP are great fits for our boutique firm,” said Devine. “The automakers are looking to companies like ours to help identify new, qualified dealers including minority and female candidates. We have a broad network of banks, lenders and firms we work with to help these buyers successfully identify and close on their first new car dealerships.”
“DCG is proud to have created and nurtured these innovative programs into the strong and impactful business lines they are today,” Cantin said, “It’s critical for the industry that great people get the support they need to become new dealers, and Biltmore will make sure that support exists.”
DCG continues to invest in innovative ways to support its retail automotive clients. DCG publishes a twice-yearly Market Outlook Report filled with industry data and insights and announced the development and launch of its AI-powered data-mining software Jump IQ. Jump IQ uses billions of data points to accurately and reliably establish financial information, performance data, custom multiples, and an overall valuation for every franchise dealership in the U.S. Additionally, it includes a tool to compare any subset of dealerships to one another: any brand and any geography.
About The Dave Cantin Group
Headquartered in New York, NY, The Dave Cantin Group (DCG) is a leading automotive M&A advisory company specializing in acquisitions, divestitures, intelligence, and other advisory services. The company is the M&A services provider of choice for North America’s top automotive dealership groups. Through its M&A intelligence division, DCG produces automotive content and delivers relevant, timely marketing intelligence, including the automotive industry Market Outlook Report (MOR). The company’s nonprofit initiative, DCG Giving, funds child and adolescent cancer research and treatment in communities nationwide as well as other worthy charitable initiatives its clients are passionate about. For more information, please visit davecantingroup.com.
About Biltmore Automotive Services LLC
Biltmore is a management consulting and service provider to Investors and Financial Firms in the automotive sector, as well as to automotive Dealers and OEMs. Biltmore’s Leadership team includes industry veterans who have participated in more than 500 dealership transactions. Biltmore develops and implements programs that preserve shareholder equity. We structure solutions that address the real needs of our clients’ organizations – across a span of related sectors including automotive retail, investment banking, commercial banking, and private equity.
