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Huron Capital’s XLerate Group Completes Sixth Add-on Acquisition
DETROIT – January 14, 2019 – Leading lower-middle-market private equity firm Huron Capital announced today that its nationwide auction and remarketing facilitation platform, XLerate Group (“XLerate”), has acquired Morton Auto Auction (“MAA”). MAA has been owned and operated by the Krupa family since 2006 and is highly regarded by both dealers and fleet/lease consignors.
“Adding MAA to the XLerate family helps solidify our Midwest footprint and adds another highly respected independent operator to our management team,” XLerate CEO Cam Hitchcock said. “We have stayed the course with XLerate’s long-term strategy to grow our business, footprint and service offerings by acquiring companies with high-quality independent sales and strong operating management.”
Steve and Ted Krupa have owned and grown Morton Auto Auction since purchasing it in 2006 from the Weihmeir family, MAA’s co-founders. Steve Krupa and Shawn Glatz will continue to operate MAA, serving as vice president and general manager, respectively, and will work closely with the XLerate sales teams to drive additional volume through MAA.
“We are honored that Steve’s family trusts XLerate with their legacy and employees at MAA,” Hitchcock said. “We intend to aggressively grow the business and enhance key product offerings like digital and mobile sales platforms.”
MAA is XLerate’s fifth Midwestern location (20 in total across the U.S.) and has, since 1978, served a broad swath of dealers in Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri and Indiana, as well as key commercial consignors.
“We are thrilled to join the XLerate group. My team and I feel that XLerate’s resources, expertise and management structure are a perfect fit for Morton and its employees and will help us to better serve our dealers and commercial consignors,” Krupa said. “While it is never an easy decision to sell your family auction, it was clear that XLerate was the best fit.”
Huron Capital formed XLerate to pursue a buy-and-build strategy in the auction industry. Under Huron Capital’s ExecFactor® investment model, XLerate has continued to grow; and now operates under eleven auction brands with fixed auction sites in California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin.
“With their strong tradition of service, dedicated staff and complementary offerings, we believe MAA will further strengthen XLerate’s position as a leader in the auction industry,” Huron Capital Vice President Matthew Lacki said.
About Huron Capital
Based in Detroit, Huron Capital is an operationally-focused private equity firm with a long history of growing lower middle-market companies through our proprietary ExecFactor® buy-and-build investment model. We prefer complex situations where we can help companies reach their full potential by combining our operational approach, substantial capital base, and transaction experience with seasoned operating executives. Celebrating its twentieth anniversary in 2019, Huron Capital has raised over $1.8 billion in capital through six committed private equity funds and invested in over 150 companies, and our portfolio companies have employed over 11,000 people throughout North America. The Huron Capital buy-and-build investment model includes equity recapitalizations, family succession transactions, market-entry strategies, corporate carve-outs, and management buyouts of companies having revenues up to $200 million. Huron Capital targets both control and non-control equity stakes in fundamentally-sound companies that can benefit from the firm’s operational approach to creating value. Huron Capital’s sector focus includes business services, consumer products & services and specialty industrials. For more information, please visit: www.huroncapital.com.
About The XLerate Group:
XLerate a leading nationwide auction and remarketing facilitation company with locations in California, Wisconsin, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Michigan, Illinois, Georgia and Florida, as well as private-label auctions across multiple markets. XLerate also facilitates transactions between buyers and sellers with its Internet-enabled physical and private label remote sales auction technology. For more information, please visit: www.XLerategroup.com
About Morton Auto Auction:
Morton Auto Auction was founded in 1978 and is centrally located in Illinois, the company routinely covers the Chicago, St Louis and Indianapolis markets as well as every city in between. Morton is known for its detail and reconditioning services being unmatched in the auction industry and our staff now includes over 100 full and part-time employees, some of whom have been with the auction almost from the beginning. Whether you sell or buy quality vehicles, Morton Auto Auction will exceed your expectations. For more information, please visit: www.mortonaa.com.
Certain information herein may contain forward-looking statements which are provided to assist the reader in understanding the beliefs and opinions with respect to future opportunities as perceived by Huron Capital and others quoted herein. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and undue reliance should not be placed on them. Such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual performance in future periods to differ materially from any projections or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The issuer of these statements undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or estimates or opinions should change except as may be required by applicable securities laws.
