Crash Champions on Tuesday announced it would grow to 118 locations in 12 states after acquiring the 24-shop regional MSO Signature Collision Centers.
Signature CEO Charles “Chuck” Pipkin will possess a bit of Crash Champions and be a professional board member. Other terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Signature had once vowed to not sell. But Pipkin said the organization concluded that it had reached the point it needed someone.
“This is really a monumental moment for Signature, one that we've been working towards for a long time,” Pipkin said inside a statement. “Since our founding in 2004, we have been committed to building e-commerce with a very specific vision and set of values. Once we looked to the future, it became clear that we needed to get together with like-minded individuals to be able to take our business to the next level and get the entire value of our platform. Our look for that partner started and ended with Crash Champions, which not only has the team and resources to accelerate our growth, but shares the same operational ethos and commitment to excellence. This is the next logical step for our business, an exciting new chapter, as well as an ideal chance to continue building our legacy under a new powerful name and brand.”
In an email Tuesday, he elaborated:
Crash Champions continues to be on a buying spree since its purchase by private equity finance firm A&M Capital Partners in 2021, and CEO Matt Ebert said it intends to keep acquiring shops.
“We have enjoyed significant growth during the last 2 yrs by carefully planning and executing a national M&A method, including identifying the right targets, partnering with talented management teams, and effectively integrating each operation into our platform,” Ebert said inside a statement. “Our pipeline for quality M&A remains strong, the Crash brand still has significant room to grow, and that we anticipate continuing our marketplace expansion.”
His MSO said the Signature deal was its 42nd since July 2021. In those days, Crash Champions had eight shops in the Chicago area.
In February, A&M Capital observed that Crash Champions stood at 60 shops and added 21 of them between August 2021 and January. Now, it’ll have 118 locations once it closes on Signature’s 24 shops with what seems to be the company’s largest deal since buying 23-shop Pacific Elite in March 2021.
“This partnership represents a collaboration between two leading names within the U.S. collision repair industry,” Ebert said from the Signature deal. “Our growth technique is rooted in identifying the best shops and owners who are able to be true partners and stewards from the Crash brand. What this means is not just creating near-term value once they join the organization through a transaction, but creating long-term value through continued contributions as people in our leadership and ownership teams. Chuck and the team are a fantastic partners, and we're excited to welcome these to the Crash family and extend our brand to the East Coast.”
Crash Champions will have a presence in California; Colorado; Florida; Illinois; Iowa; Kansas; Maryland; Missouri; New york; Pennsylvania; Ohio; Washington, D.C.; and Wisconsin once it closes on Signature. This larger national footprint could shake things up for direct repair program and non-direct repair program competitors in the region, though Signature already had stressed DRPs in its business model.
It’s been said that insurers like dealing with larger national collision operations along with a single point of contact instead of numerous independent shops in individual markets.
A&M mentioned both economies of scale and DRPs in celebrating Crash Champions’ growth to 60 shops in February.
“Using its expanded footprint, Crash continues to drive entrenchment of insurance company relationships and continuing DRP additions according to superior service offerings, manufacturer certifications, and equipment,” A&M wrote. “With these key acquisitions, Crash believes it will also be better positioned to take benefit of the various scale benefits of as being a larger MSO, including operational efficiencies and price synergies.”
Signature’s website says the MSO “was built round the Direct Repair Program model.”
“As a closely held company, Signature works on much tighter profit margins than the usual large company beholden to investors,” another webpage states. “If you take this longer-term view, Signature has indeed been able to offer lower rates to insurance companies and reinvest more in quality employees, equipment, training and processes. Consequently, customers enjoy consistently high-quality service and workmanship. A Win-Win-Win situation.”
